Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Lithuania will be aiming to defend their slim lead in the Nations League double-header with Gibraltar when the two teams face each other in Kaunas on Tuesday afternoon. The Lithuanians won the first leg 1-0 thanks to Armandas Kucys’ goal and, as a result, the 21-year-old forward is widely expected to return to the starting XI. Experienced defender Edvinas Girdvainis misses the second leg through suspension.
The minnows, on the other hand, are on an eleven-game losing run in all competitions and given their shaky defence, anything but a routine home win would be a big surprise. To make things even worse for the visiting team, goalkeeper Dayle Coleing is banned for the match following his sending-off in the Estadio Algavre defeat. Fellow shot-stopper Bradley Banda is widely expected to replace him in the starting XI, with attacker Michael Ruiz pushing for a recall as well.
Highlighted Team (Lithuania):
Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Union in 1940 and 50 years later they regained their independence. The Lithuania national football team played their first official game on June 24, 1923, with the team suffering a heavy 5-0 loss to Estonia in Kaunas.
The former Soviet republic have yet to book their place at the finals of a major tournament, but they were competitive in the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifiers as they managed to play out a draw with Germany on the road. Lithuania managed to beat Scotland in the qualifiers for the 2004 European Championship, but they eventually failed to book their place at the showpiece tournament in Portugal. Marius Stankevicius is considered Lithuania’s most notable footballer as he played for the likes of Lazio, Hannover, Sampdoria, Sevilla and Valencia in the past.
LFF Stadium is the home ground of the Lithuania national football team and the venue, who capacity is 5.067, was opened in 2004. Lithuania play their home games on artificial turf.