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On Tuesday, one match between Estonians and Latvians ended in a draw, while the other ended in the victory of the latter. Today, another two Latvian teams will play their first matches in the Baltic Football League against Estonian clubs.
BFL D Group matches
Riga "Skonto" - Tallinn "Flora"
The Riga team recently returned from a training camp in the Netherlands, where they lost 1-2 to the strongest Moscow "Lokomotiv" team and defeated a lower league club.
The composition of "Skonto" is not yet fully formed for the upcoming season: a contract was recently signed with Slovak Dirnbach, another Slovak Pjacek returned from a trial at "Kaiserslautern," Georgian defender Gamezarashvili returned to the team, while Czech Radek Castulin participates in the trial.
Although the Riga team has not set clear goals in the Baltic Football League, the team will surely be disappointed if they don't reach the semifinals. Meanwhile, "Skonto" head coach Englishman Paul Ashworth constantly emphasizes that his team is stronger and younger than last year.
On the other hand, "Flora," who lost the first BFL match 0-3 to Vilnius "Vėtra" a week ago, unexpectedly struggled and fought in the Estonian championship - the Tallinn club only won 1-0 against league debutants "Kalev" on Saturday, barely avoiding a draw at the end of the match.
In these matches, "Flora" will be without five key players due to injuries: Vyacheslav Zahovaiko, Andrei Mazurkevich, Kristenas Viikmae, Martin Hurt, and Siim Roops.
However, Latvians should not underestimate "Flora," as they can play very well despite being unstable - as seen last year in the UEFA Cup against Oslo "Lyn." In addition, in the Wednesday match, "Flora" is expected to be supported by about twenty fans who have traveled with the team and are considered the most active in Estonia.
BFL Group A matches
Narva "Trans" - "Dinaburg"
Although "Trans" plays in Estonia, they will have to do so in Tallinn, which is hundreds of kilometers away from Narva. "Trans" has played all their international matches in the capital in recent years, which did not work in their favor as they almost always lost.
On Saturday, Narva footballers started the matches in the Estonian championship with difficulties against Viljandi, where they were initially leading by only one goal, but at the end of the match scored three unanswered goals and won 5-1.
However, the players of "Dinaburg" seem even more skeptical, as based on statements in the press, they would probably be happy with at least one point as visitors. The Latvian club camped in Turkey before this match, where they played a draw with Moscow "Lokomotiv."
Before these matches, the club was joined by defenders Andrei Abramov and Andrei Ryabikh, as well as Georgians Rolando Sanidze and Bekar Giorgadze. It is expected that all of them can take the field in the Wednesday match.
