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This weekend will feature the 30th round of the NFKA "A Lyga". On Saturday, there will be four matches, while on Sunday the final match of the round will take place at the Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium, where "FC Vilnius" will face Kėdainiai "Nevėžis".
Saturday
- Panevėžio
Match start: 16:00
Definitely an intriguing match on Saturday afternoon will take place in Šiauliai, where the local team will host Panevėžio "Ekranas". Without a doubt, the last clash between these two teams in Šiauliai comes to mind, when "Šiauliai" unexpectedly crushed their opponents 4-1.
For "Šiauliai", who need a victory to fight for fourth place and a ticket to the Baltic Football League, coach Saulius Vertelis will most likely rely on all the players who played against "Nevėžis": the only doubt is about Gintaras Juodeikis, who is already training but it is unclear if he will be able to enter the field. The team will definitely miss Amaro Atigbiolaye, representing the Nigerian youth team, as well as defenders Vadimas Tarasovas and Sergėjus Galiūza, who will no longer play due to injuries.
In the ranks of "Ekranas" for these matches, we will certainly not see the Lithuanian national team players Gediminas Paulauskas and Povilas Lukšys, who cannot play due to yellow cards. When asked if the team is on the rise after two important victories (a dramatic 4-3 victory against "Žalgiris" on Sunday and a 1-0 victory in the LFF Cup against "Vilnius" on Wednesday), V. Liubšys said: "No. It was a very tough period, but we are preparing for these matches, and after them, we will give the players five days to rest and relax from football."
"I don't feel any rise or fall," said V. Liubšys before the match with "Šiauliai" over the phone. "We are preparing for these matches and want to play well."
"I think we undeservedly lost the last match in Šiauliai 1-4," said the coach when asked if there is a feeling of revenge in the team. "In the first half, we completely controlled the situation on the field, but that's football. It was similar with 'Žalgiris' - they played better than us for 82 minutes, but... We will try not to lose - these are very important matches for us."
It is worth mentioning the recent matches of both teams: "Šiauliai" easily defeated Kėdainiai "Nevėžis" 5-2 in Kaunas, but the Panevezys players played even more impressively. "Ekranas" scored four goals against Vilnius "Žalgiris" in the last ten minutes of a dramatic match last weekend and won 4-3. The only downside for the Panevezys team might be that they played the LFF Cup semi-final match against Vilnius club on Wednesday, which they won 1-0 and reached the final. Before the Saturday match, Panevezys will have only two days to recover, while the Šiauliai footballers will be well-rested.
- Vilniaus
Match start: 16:00
Another intriguing match will take place at the Kaunas S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium: the champions of this year who have recently fallen into a playing crisis and are constantly losing points will face Vilnius "Žalgiris", who will definitely not lack motivation.
This year, "Žalgiris" lost all three matches against the multiple Lithuanian champions: at home 1-2 and 0-1, and in Kaunas 2-1. However, "Kaunas" will undoubtedly play in these matches with a different lineup than in the previous matches, as several of their leaders have left the team.
During the last four matches, "Kaunas" has only earned four points, while "Žalgiris", who embarrassingly lost in Panevezys last weekend, ended an eight-game unbeaten streak.
In these matches, "Kaunas" will definitely not be able to rely on both main team goalkeepers Eduardas Kurskis and Mindaugas Malinauskas, as well as Linas Pilibaitis.
"A victory is crucial for us," said "Kaunas" coach Eugenijus Riabovas before the match. "We have very tough matches ahead of us, as the Vilnius team, who embarrassingly lost to 'Ekranas' in Panevezys last round, is eager for a victory."
Klaipėda - Marijampolė
"The victory in the cup tournament boosted the team's morale, but to face the same team twice in a row in a three-day period would be problematic for anyone," said Marijampolė's press representative Arūnas Reinikis before the match, referring to the 1-0 victory in the LFF Cup semi-final return match in Klaipėda on Wednesday, which allowed "Sūduva" to advance to the final.
On Saturday, just like in the previous match, "Sūduva" will not be able to count on the injured Mantas Uselis, Ottavio Braga, and Jose Cordeiro.
"All other players can take the field," said A. Reinikis, adding: "The team's morale is good, and we will definitely aim for a positive result."
Undoubtedly, the painful defeat in the cup, especially at home, will provide an additional stimulus to the coastal team, whose coach Vacys Lekevičius was very disappointed after the match and felt guilty for the chosen tactics.
Vilniaus
Match start: 18:30
This match has perhaps the clearest favorite of all the round matches. Led by coach Aleksandras Tarchanov, the "Vėtra" team, which has recently found their form, will face the last-placed team "Šilutė".
Furthermore, the Vilnius team has some scores to settle with the Pamario footballers: last spring, they took points away from the Vilnius team at the "Vėtra" stadium when they secured a 1-1 draw. However, both matches in Šilutė ended with "Vėtra" victories of 1-2 and 0-4.
In this match, "Vėtra" will be missing three key players: the main goalkeeper of the Vilnius club Vaidotas Žutautas suffered a serious injury in the match against "Vilnius", and defenders Algis Jankauskas and Bobis Božinovskis have not yet recovered from their injuries.
When asked if "Vėtra" will lack motivation in the fight against the league's bottom team, Vilnius club press representative Tautvydas Vencevičius said: "Definitely not. After the match with 'FC Vilnius', the coach gave the players a day off and said that with full responsibility, they should prepare for the match against 'Šilutė'. We have already learned our lesson from the match with 'Nevėžis'. Moreover, every point is very important to us now."
"Not yet," T. Vencevičius replied when asked if "Vėtra" has lost hope of competing for second place in the championship. "And the fight for third place will also not be easy, and we are not safe. Our main pursuers - 'Sūduva,' 'Žalgiris,' and 'Atlantas' - are still very much in the race."
In the last round, "Vėtra" won the Vilnius derby with a minimal result against "FC Vilnius," with Dejanas Milošeskis standing out, while "Šilutė" lost 2-0 to "Sūduva" in Marijampolė.
Sunday
- Kėdainių
Match start: 17:00
Another match where the favorite is clear. The Vilnius footballers, who currently occupy the eighth place in the standings, simply must earn three points in the match against one of the league's bottom teams - Kėdainiai "Nevėžis" - if they want to continue fighting for higher positions.
Before the match with "Vilnius," "Nevėžis" coach Vitalijus Stankevičius had a pessimistic attitude. The team will be without Laurynas Rimavičius, Marius Činikas, and Mindaugas Daunoravičius due to yellow cards. In addition, defender Dainius Dobilas suffered a broken finger bone, and due to the flu, defenders Darius Adomaitis and Martynas Juknevičius will also be unable to play.
"We will be missing six main lineup players," said V. Stankevičius. "We practically have only eighteen players, so it's a huge loss. It will be very difficult. We will have to rely on players born in 1985-86 who are still inexperienced."
The coach is also concerned that "Nevėžis" has conceded fifteen goals in the last three matches: "Defenders are making childish mistakes. The team basically collapsed after losing to 'Šilutė,' when we conceded three goals in the last minutes. They still can't recover because they are young. We need a break now, which will only come after this round (the national championship will not take place due to international matches - ed. note). Maybe then we will be able to recover."
