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Today (Thursday) in Marijampolė, the second leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round will be played - the local team will host the Welsh bronze medalists "Rhyl" football players.
"Sūduva" - "Rhyl" Referee - Goran Mihaljevic (Serbia) Kick-off: 18:00 Lithuania time
The first leg in Wales ended in a goalless draw, so today both teams have great opportunities to advance to the next round of the tournament. As noted by the Welsh media after the first leg, there was an equal battle on the field, with both teams having equal chances to score.
Before the second leg in Marijampolė, "Sūduva" coach Algimantas Gabrys told LNK that the Welsh playing style is not favorable to his players.
"They try to 'throw' 'high' balls into the penalty area, where many players gather. This style of play is not favorable to us," said A. Gabrys. "We prefer when the ball is kept on the ground, playing a more Lithuanian, technical style of football."
A major loss for today's match should be the muscle injury experienced by "Sūduva" captain Darius Gvildys, which will prevent him from playing for about ten days. However, the captain should still be the inspirational leader of the team.
"If we score an early goal, the game will change and then we can counterattack. If we don't score, it can be very difficult because the opponents' team has physically strong and tall players," said D. Gvildys. "A tough battle awaits. I will hold the reins for the team and I think we will achieve a positive result."
Meanwhile, "Rhyl" hopes to capitalize on their past experience in European tournaments and advance to the next round. It is favorable for the Welsh team that they only need scoring draws to progress to the second qualifying round.
"Our team is young, but already has experience in European tournaments," said "Rhyl" head coach John Hulse. "The team already tasted victory in European tournaments last season. This year we have a great opportunity to feel it again."
"We are not going to Lithuania to play for a draw - we will fight for victory," said J. Hulse about the match.
Last year, "Rhyl" eliminated another Lithuanian team in the UEFA Europa League - Klaipėda's "Atlantas" - becoming the second Welsh team to overcome a barrier in European tournaments.
Furthermore, last year's trip to Lithuania by "Rhyl" was not without incidents - after the unsuccessful match against Klaipėda, "Atlantas" coach Vacys Lekevičius physically attacked opposition goalkeeper Gerald McGuigan.
Because of this, before today's match, J. Hulse warned his players not to pay attention to possible provocations from the hosts.
"The team has a good attitude, is disciplined, and gives their all on the field," said the coach. "Formally we are semi-professionals, but in our minds, we are true professionals."
J. Hulse admitted that the team may be hindered by the hot Lithuanian weather, which the Welsh are not accustomed to - temperatures of up to 30 degrees are forecasted today.
Preparing for these matches, on Friday "Sūduva" defeated Klaipėda's "Atlantas" 3-1, and coach A. Gabrys mentioned after the match that he wanted to try playing with two forwards the most on the field. It is with this unusual tactical formation of 4-4-2 that Marijampolė will play today.
However, A. Gabrys faces several problems with his lineup before the match: as mentioned earlier, team captain D. Gvildys will not be able to play today due to a muscle injury, defender Mantas Samusiovas has already left for Russia and signed a contract with "Khimki", and forward Christian Sagna has left for a trial in Romania.
Although these players can be replaced by currently trialing Belarusian defender and forward, they will not be able to appear on the field today due to registration requirements.
On the other hand, there are no major losses in the Welsh ranks, and they prepared for today's match by defeating "Salford City" 2-1 in a friendly match on Saturday. However, "Rhyl" was trailing 1-0 after the first half, but made 7 substitutions during halftime and secured the victory.
Today from 18:00 on the EuroFootball.com website, you can follow the match commentary live from Marijampolė.
