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FK Zalgiris welcome Malmo FF to LFF Stadium in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round on Tuesday.
Zalgiris are back in the Champions League second qualifying round. The last time they participated at this stage was in 2020-21 when they were bundled out by Hungarian side Ferencvaros 5-1 on aggregate.
This year, Zaliai Balti booked their place in the second round at the expense of Ballkani from Kovoso. The Lithuanian champions are up against tough side Malmo, who are old timers in the competition. Zalgiris need to improve on their conversions to avoid the huge waste of goal chances seen in their last game.
Malmo are known for being unrelenting fighters, however, they just barely survived Víkingur Reykjavík's scare to advance to the second round.
Di blae edged the Icelandic team 6-5 on aggregate, drawing criticism for their porous and disorganized defense. They will most likely redress that flaw ahead of their second round campaign. The team boast a couple of top players like Serbian midfielder Veljko Birmancevic and Danish star Anders Christiansen who can make a difference in Vilnius.
We expect to see a cracker that will not be resolved in the first leg but will stretch into the return fixture.
Zalgiris vs Malmo Head-to-Head
The two teams have met twice, with both matches taking place in Champions League qualifying. Malmo won one of the meetings 1-0 while the other ended in a goalless draw.
Zalgiris form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-W
Malmo form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-L
Zalgiris vs Malmo Team News
Zalgiris have no major injury concerns. Although Petar Mamic, team captain Saulius Mikoliunas and Marko Milickovic received yellow cards in the previous game, they are expected to play against Malmo.
However, another yellow card for the mentioned players could affect their participation in the return leg.
Injury: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspension: None.
Unavailable: None.
Malmo
Attacking midfielder Adi Nalic has been sidelined with a cruciate ligament rupture. It is unclear if defenders Martin Olsson and Lasse Nielsen will be rotated due to the yellow cards they received in the previous game. There are suggestions the duo could be left out to avoid any further bookings that could rule them out of the crucial second leg.
Injury: Adi Nalic
Doubtful: None.
Suspension: None.
Unavailable: None.
Zalgiris vs Malmo Predicted Xls
Zalgiris (4-4-2): Edvinas Gertmonas (GK), Nemanja Ljubisavljevic, Petar Mamic, Mario Pavelic, Marko Milickovic, Saulius Mikoliunas, Nicolas Gorobsov, Oliver Buff, Renan, Francis Kyeremeh, Fabien Ourega,
Malmo (5-3-2): Johan Dahlin (GK), Felix Beijmo, Lasse Nielsen, Denis Hadzikadunic, Martin Olsson, Moustafa Zeidan, Mahame Siby, Sergio Pena, Joseph Ceesay, Isaac Thelin, Jo Inge Berget
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Zalgiris vs Malmo Prediction
Zalgiris have been doing fine at home lately, winning three out of the last four games they have hosted at LFF Stadium. However, they have also conceded many goals. In those matches, they scored six times and allowed four in. They need to stay watchful of free scoring Malmo. Malmo returned with success from three of their past four away trips, scoring a total of eight goals.
Zalgiris will likely narrowly prevail in this first leg, but we expect them to concede a goal.
Prediction: Zalgiris 2-1 Malmo
