Preview: Lithuania vs. Bulgaria - prediction, team news, lineups

Lithuania face Bulgaria in their second game of Euro 2024 qualifying at Darius and Girenas Stadium on Saturday.

The home side were beaten 2-0 by Serbia in round one, and the visitors have fallen to successive defeats, placing them bottom in Group G.

Match preview

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Edgaras Jankauskas seeks his first competitive win in his second spell in charge of Lithuania when they play host to Bulgaria this weekend.

The coach managed Rinktine from January 2016 until December 2018 and returned in February but could not inspire the side against Serbia in March.

That loss at the start of qualifying, and not featuring in round two, means the Lithuanians are still to get points on board.

They seek to change that statistic, although their last results at home inspire little confidence, evidenced by three straight losses on their turf in European Championship qualification games.

Lithuania have won just two of 13 in front of their fans since 2010, demonstrating their inability to partake in the finals since the mid-1990s.

As for Bulgaria, the cellar-dwelling nation seek to avoid falling far behind the group's top sides by avoiding a third straight loss on Saturday.

Mladen Krstajic's team lost back-to-back games against Montenegro and Hungary three months back — 1-0 and 3-0 — without finding the back of the net.

The inability to score could be their undoing, especially as they have fashioned opportunities to score in both losses.

Spas Delev and Ilia Gruev were culpable in the 1-0 home defeat by Montenegro, and a different result in that opening game might not have placed them in such a precarious position.

The Lions' away record in European Championship qualifying leaves much to be desired, with their last victory coming in a 1-0 triumph at Malta in 2015.

Five defeats from seven (two draws) does not bode well, especially as Bulgaria have fired blanks in five road matches.

Team News

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Markas Beneta has recovered from the injury that forced him off against Serbia in March, and the Lithuania left-back is expected to start on Saturday.

Fedor Cernych netted a brace when these nations met in 2021, and the attacker could be pivotal in this weekend's encounter.

Despite the intermittent utilisation of a back five, Jankauskas is inclined to approach games with a back four, even if he switches between variations — 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.

Krstajic should continue with the 3-5-2 he has tended to make use of for Bulgaria, resisting the temptation to change his team's shape after two straight defeats.

Yoan Stoyanov and Valentin Antov should keep their spots in the away side's defence, while Gruev is anticipated to play from the off in midfield.

Lithuania possible starting lineup:
Bartkus; Lasickas, Kazukolovas, Girdvainis, Beneta; Gineitis, Simkus, Golubickas; Cernych, Laukeemis, Jankauskas

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Naumov; Stoyanov, Hristov, Antov, Petrov, Petkov; Gruev, Karabelyov, Iliev; Despodov, Delev

We say: Lithuania 1-1 Bulgaria

It is hard separating both nations, whose inability to score consistently enough means they may play out a low-scoring encounter in Kaunas.


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