© EuroFootball.com
On September 20, Wednesday, the 28th round matches of the "A League" will be played in Lithuanian stadiums. All matches will take place at a rather inconvenient time for football fans: 16:30. Exciting matches await in Klaipėda, where two teams competing for bronze in the championship, "Atlantas" and "Vėtra", will face each other. In Vilnius, "Žalgiris" will try to extend their series of unbeaten matches, this time playing against "Sūduva". "Šilutė", who achieved an impressive victory in the previous round, will host "Vilnius", "Šiauliai" will face "Kaunas", and "Ekranas" in Kaunas will test "Nevėžis".
Beginnings: 16:30
In the seaside city, one of the main competitors for the bronze, "Atlantas" and "Vėtra" teams, will meet. Although in the previous round the Klaipėda team lost to "Vilnius" at home, "Vėtra" failed to take advantage of that, only earning a point in the capital derby against "Žalgiris". After the last match, "Atlantas" coach Vacys Lekevičius was very dissatisfied with his defenders' play, so changes can be expected in that area. The "Vėtra" coach Aleksandras Tarchanovas also should not be satisfied with the defense: "Žalgiris" scored a goal after a mistake in the "Vėtra" club's defensive line, and at the end of the match, another defensive mistake allowed one player to score against goalkeeper Virmantas Lemežis, although the latter failed to strike accurately.
Another issue in the Vilnius team is injuries. Due to them, Bobis Božinovskis and Donatas Vencevičius missed the match against "Žalgiris", and during the match, Algis Jankauskas was carried off the field with stretchers due to injury. He was replaced by Pavolas Barmošas, for whom it was a debut in the capital club. It is also unclear whether another "Vėtra" footballer - Nerijus Sasnauskas - will be able to play in Klaipėda.
This season the teams met 2 times and shared the victories with identical results of 2-1, with both clubs winning at home.
Currently in the "A League," "Atlantas" is 5th (38 points) and is 3 points behind "Vėtra", which is in 3rd place. Both teams have played 25 matches each.
Beginnings: 16:30
In Šilutė, two teams that performed well in the previous round will meet: "Šilutė" won 4-3 away after a dramatic battle against "Nevėžis", and "Vilnius" also won 2-1 as guests against "Atlantas". Interestingly, before their last victory in the "A League," Vilnius had won against "Šilutė" on July 5th with a score of 1-0.
This year the clubs have met 3 times, with Vilnius winning all three matches. In Vilnius, the victories were achieved with scores of 2-1 and 1-0, and in Šilutė 1-0.
Currently in the championship, "Šilutė" is just one point behind the 9th-placed "Nevėžis" and has real chances to overtake them, while "Vilnius" is in 8th place with 30 points.
Beginnings: 16:30
In Vilnius, two teams competing for the bronze will meet. The unbeaten "Žalgiris" for 6 rounds will host "Sūduva", who played 1-1 against "Šiauliai" in the last round. This season the teams have met 3 times, with both teams sharing one victory each, and the match in Vilnius ending goalless.
In this match, "Žalgiris" will be supported by one of the team leaders Eimantas Poderis and Tadas Labukas. They missed the match against "Vėtra" due to accumulated yellow cards.
In the "A League," "Žalgiris" with 38 points after 27 matches is in 4th place, while "Sūduva" is in 6th place (37 points after 27 matches).
Beginnings: 16:30
In Šiauliai, "Šiauliai" and "Kaunas" will meet. Before these matches, most football fans will probably remember the first meeting of these teams in the sunny city, when the match ended in a refereeing scandal with guests from Kaunas celebrating victory.
In memorable duels in Šiauliai, the teams have already met twice, as well as in the temporary capital, with "Kaunas" celebrating convincing victories of 2-0 and 3-0 in both matches.
In the last round, the teams had different outcomes: "Kaunas" achieved a crucial victory of 1-0 against the 2nd-placed "Ekranas", while "Šiauliai" played a draw of 1-1 with "Sūduva", a result that didn't satisfy either team's coaches.
In these matches, "Šiauliai" will still be able to rely on Nigerian legionnaire Amaro Atigbiolaye, who will leave for his country's youth team the next day. It is unclear regarding Vasilijus Monakovas, who impressed in the match against "Sūduva" but missed several training sessions due to injury. Nevertheless, there is good news in the Šiauliai team: after recovering from illness, Gintaras Juodeikis and Andrius Šidlauskas will most likely appear on the field, and after replacing Ingus Lukovičius following a devastating 0-4 loss to "Vėtra," Giedrius Arlauskis will most likely guard the "Šiauliai" goal in Wednesday's match, although he suffered a minor injury.
Currently in the "A League," Šiauliai is 7th (34 points in 27 matches), while "Kaunas" is in 1st place (68 points in 26 matches).
Beginnings: 16:30
In Kaunas, perhaps the least intriguing match will take place between "Nevėžis" and "Ekranas". Both clubs suffered painful losses in the last round to their direct competitors. This season the teams played 3 times: the Panevėžys team won twice 5-1 and 4-0, and one match ended in a 1-1 draw.
In the "A League," "Nevėžis" is 9th (13 points in 26 matches) while "Ekranas" is 2nd (49 points in 26 matches). After losing to "Kaunas" and losing their chances to compete, "Ekranas" should now be concerned about how to maintain the 2nd place, with Vilnius' "Vėtra" only 5 points behind them in lost points.
