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One week after the final of the Lithuanian Football Federation Cup, football fans are waiting for another showdown between championship favorites in the "General Financing A Lyga” XIV round: the country's champions, Panevėžio "Ekranas," will meet "Žalgiris" in Vilnius.
Situation. Ekranas is currently in first place in the A Lyga after XIII rounds, with 34 points, 11 wins, one draw, and one loss. VMFD "Žalgiris" is in second place with 29 points, 9 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. It can be said that the teams are fighting not for three, but for 6 points, as when one team wins, the other automatically does not earn points.
Mood. Ekranas did not give up to "Žalgiris" during the main cup final and extra time, and at the end of the match they seemed significantly more aggressive and dangerous than their opponents, who had to defend and fend off attacks from the Panevėžys team. The failure in the penalty shootout will surely give the Ekranas team additional sporting anger and motivation to redeem themselves.
Žalgiris, after the victory in the cup final, is emotionally uplifted, "on cloud nine." On the other hand, if the green and whites truly want to compete for the championship gold, a victory at home is necessary. The last two A Lyga matches for the capital's team did not go well, with a 0:2 loss at home against "Kruoja" and a 0:0 draw away with "Sūduva."
Statistics. Panevėžys has faced the reestablished Vilnius Football Society "Žalgiris” 6 times in 2010 and 2011, and twice this season. In 2010, Ekranas achieved two victories - 3:0 and 1:0, and suffered a defeat with the same score in the capital.
In 2011, the statistics were similar - two victories and one defeat. The difference is that both victories - 1:0 and 2:1 - were achieved away, and the defeat came at home in Panevėžys with a 1:2 score.
Results from this year are still fresh in our memory: in early spring, at the beginning of April, Ekranas secured a victory with an impressive goal by Mantis Savėnas at the Football Academy Stadium, winning 1:0. The cup final ended goalless with a penalty shootout victory celebrated by the green and whites.
Excluding the penalty shootout in the cup final, it is interesting to note that "Žalgiris” has not scored in three consecutive matches. The team usually stands out in the middle of the first half, from the 15th to the 30th minute - with 9 goals scored in this time interval. Goals are also often scored towards the end of the match, from the 75th to the 90th minute, with 7 goals scored in this time interval. From the 45th to the 60th minute, 4 goals have been scored.
