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Today, on Tuesday, the Baltic Football League matches start. In the first game, Lithuanian vice-champion Panevezys "Ekranas" will compete against Tallinn "TVMK" at 6:00 p.m. in Vilnius, Estonia, who finished 4th last year.
Baltic Football League Group B, Round I matches Panevezys - Tallinn (Kickoff - 18:00)
In the last friendly match, "Ekranas" confidently defeated "Vilnius", who finished 7th in the A League season, with a score of 2-0 in Vilnius last weekend at the same venue as these upcoming matches, with goals scored by Vitalijus Kavaliauskas and Moldovan Sergejus Pogrebanas.
Having held a pre-season training camp in Turkey, the "Ekranas" team welcomed back Gediminas Paulauskas, who participated in trials for Norwegian and Russian clubs. However, one of the team's leaders, Lithuanian national team defender Arunas Klimavicius, left the team for Moscow's "Dinamo".
Speaking about the upcoming matches, the new "Ekranas" coach Saulius Sirmelis stated that his players will only fight for 3 points.
Tallinn's opponents, "TVMK", also changed coaches during the off-season. With Viacheslav Smirnov at the helm, the team promised an attacking style of play, and friendly matches showed that the coach is fulfilling his promises.
While Tallinn's attacking line and midfield do not pose major problems, the defensive line is causing concern as Eduardas Sarajevas, Vadimas Seero, and Tomas Rimas will be out of play for a longer period due to injuries.
"Defense is weak, attack is strong. So we have no choice but to attack," V. Smirnovas clearly stated.
Although "TVMK" did not impress in friendly matches, they have shown potential to outperform "Ekranas" or "Ventspils" in Group B. Young and experienced players have balanced the team's midfield and offense.
"TVMK" held a training camp in Finland, and observers from friendly matches noted the mature Estonian team's solid defensive game.
However, the fact that "TVMK" conceded goals in only one out of 10 friendly matches may give "Ekranas" some extra hope.
Predicted lineups for the teams: "Ekranas": Bogdanas Stefanovičius; Gediminas Paulauskas, Dainius Gleveckas, Linas Klimavičius, Alfredas Skroblas; Deimantas Bička, Mantas Savėnas, Giedrius Tomkevičius, Sergejus Pogrebanas; Vitalijus Kavaliauskas, Povilas Lukšys. "TVMK" (according to EuroFootball.com partners SoccerNet.ee): Vitali Telesh; Vladislavs Gabovs, Mikk Haavistu, Jevgenijs Kacanovs, Erko Saviauk; Nikolai Mashitshev, Liivo Leetma, Andrei Borissov, Sergei Terekhov; Artur Ossipov, Viktors Dobrecovs
