© EuroFootball.com
On Thursday, at 21:00, in the Darius and Girėnas sports center stadium in Kaunas, Marijampolė will host one of the most titled Belgian teams in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round match.
In the last Belgian championship, called "Jupiler Liga," the Marijampolė rivals suffered a defeat against another team from the city, "SV Roeselare," with a score of 2-3 in the Bruges derby, despite trailing 0-3 until the 84th minute. Brugge scored both goals, with striker Jeanvion Yulu-Matondo, who should play in Kaunas.
However, one of the attacking leaders of the team, Croatian Boško Balaban, who has played for Zagreb's "Dinamo" and "Aston Villa" teams, and Belgian goalkeeper Gregory Dufer, will not be coming to Kaunas. B.Balaban is currently ill, while G.Dufer has not completely recovered from his injury.
Marijampolė's "Sūduva" also has losses in these matches. Due to injuries suffered during the "A Lyga" match against the Vilnius team, they will not be able to help the team, and perhaps a defender who has not fully recovered from a muscle injury. However, Marijampolė will be able to play former Vilnius "Žalgiris" striker Aleksandras Osipovičius, who recently joined the team.
"Sūduva" coach Algimantas Gabrys was impressed by Brugge's game, praising the Belgian team's defenders and forwards.
"I haven't analyzed the detailed game of the Belgian team because I have only seen old video recordings. A lot has changed since then. Nevertheless, I have formed an opinion. The Belgian team is a high-level team, the players do not play only with long passes, like our former opponent 'Rhyl' from Wales. Brugge plays excellently both in the air and on the ground. We are facing a very tough battle with a strong team," said the coach.
Gabrys does not like that "Sūduva" will play in Kaunas instead of Marijampolė: "This is a very big downside. The Darius and Girėnas Stadium is foreign to us, so it turns out that we will play both matches against the Belgians away."
EuroFootball.com hopes to provide live match commentary to viewers.
