© EuroFootball.com
On Wednesday, October 18th, the matches of the 32nd round of the "A League" will be played. All matches will be played at a not very favorable time for spectators - 15:30.
In the first round matches in Sun City, two teams fighting for the 4th place, "Šiauliai" and "Žalgiris", will meet. This will be the fourth meeting of the teams this season. The teams shared a victory in the capital, while the match in Šiauliai ended goalless.
In the Wednesday match, "Šiauliai" will be without their attacking leader Ilja Galiūza. The Ukrainian received his fourth yellow card in the championship against "Atlantas" and will be forced to miss the very important match against "Žalgiris". It is also unclear whether experienced goalkeeper Gintaras Juodeikis, who got injured in the match against the Klaipėda club, will be able to play.
Before the match, the head coach of "Šiauliai", Saulius Vertelis, stated on the official club website: "I don't think that the absence of two main players can determine the outcome of the match. This is a chance for lesser-played footballers to prove their worth. I hope that fortune will not turn its back on us as it did in the match against "Atlantas".
Currently, "Šiauliai" is in 7th place in the "A League" (41 points), while "Žalgiris" is fifth with 43 points.
In the capital city, "Vilnius" will host "Sūduva". Interestingly, these matches will take place at the "Vėtra" stadium. In the previous encounters between these teams, Marijampolė celebrated a victory once (2-1), while two draws were recorded (1-1 and 0-0).
In the upcoming match, "Sūduva" will be without injured defenders Mantas Uselis and Jose Cordeiro, as well as forward Ottavio Braga.
Interviewed before the match, Arūnas Reinikis, a spokesman for the Marijampolė club, emphasized that the upcoming match will be important in the fight for the 4th place in the championship and to boost morale before the upcoming LFF Cup final against "Ekranas". He also added that despite the looming final, the match against "Vilnius" will feature the strongest lineup. The current goals set for the team are 4th place in the "A League" and the LFF Cup.
In these matches, "Vilnius" will have defender Tomas Ražanauskas, who has been out for some time. Another defender, Ramūnas Radavičius, will miss the match as he is suspended.
After losing to "Vėtra" in the last round, "Sūduva" practically lost the chance to fight for the bronze medal in the championship and now has to continue fighting for the 4th place they currently hold. "Vilnius" is in 8th place with 36 points.
A less interesting match awaits in Šilutė, where the teams occupying opposite positions in the league table, the championship underdog "Šilutė" and leader "Kaunas", will meet. So far in all encounters, "Kaunas" won convincingly: 6-1, 4-0, and 3-0.
In the "Kaunas" team, Givi Kvaratskhelia will be absent due to yellow cards.
For "Kaunas", the only motivation could be the lack of motivation, as they are only a few steps away from the gold medals, while "Šilutė" is forced to fight for a place in next year's "A League".
In Klaipėda, "Atlantas" will face "Ekranas". This season, the teams shared a victory ("Atlantas" won in Klaipėda 2-0, "Ekranas" in Panevėžys 3-1), while another match in the capital of Aukštaitija ended goalless.
Interviewed by EuroFootball.com, the playing coach of "Atlantas", Rimantas Žvingilas, said that the team does not have any injured players and on Wednesday, the team will field the strongest lineup. The only loss for the team is R. Žvingilas himself, who will miss the upcoming match due to suspension.
Asked whether the upcoming LFF Cup final awaiting "Ekranas" on Saturday could affect the players' performance and the result of the match, the coach emphasized that regardless of how their opponents are feeling, the only goal for his team is victory.
However, R. Žvingilas admitted that the team has been playing very inconsistently this season, so the team spirit is not the best.
"Atlantas" is currently in 6th place in the "A League" (42 points), while "Ekranas" is second with 61 points.
In the last round match in Kaunas, "Nevėžis" will face "Vėtra". This season, "Vėtra" celebrated two victories in the head-to-head matches (1-0 and 2-0), while "Nevėžis" was stronger once (3-2).
In the Vilnius team, Algis Jankauskas, Aidis Preikšaitis, and Bobi Božinovski will be absent due to injuries on Wednesday. The good news for Vilnius fans is that Vaidas Žutautas has returned to the team's goal. However, he will be playing with a partially recovered injury, but despite that, he decided to help the team in this crucial part of the championship.
After a serious ankle injury, Donatas Vencevičius has recovered and played in the match against "Sūduva" after more than two months' break. Additionally, the most productive "Vėtra" player, Sergejus Kuznecovas, will be on the field this time after missing the last round match in Marijampolė due to suspension.
When asked whether the team lacks motivation, "Vėtra" coach Aleksandras Tarchanovas said that it definitely does not. "We learned from the previous match against 'Nevėžis.' We underestimated our opponents and suffered a defeat, losing valuable points in the fight for prize places. We will try not to repeat mistakes because now every stumble can cost a lot, every point is extremely important," said the "Vėtra" coach.
The press representative of the capital's club, Tautvydas Vencevičius, added that the serious attitude towards the match is shown by the fact that the "Vėtra" team has been in a short training camp in Birštonas since last Saturday, actively preparing for the upcoming match.
Meanwhile, the "Nevėžis" team will only miss the suspended defender Saulius Butka.
"Nevėžis" is currently 9th in the championship (13 points), while "Vėtra" has consolidated its 3rd place with 52 points.
