Lithuania vs Slovenia
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Sunday; 4-September-2016
Kick-off: 17:00 UK
Venue: LFF Stadium, Vilnius.
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Sunday; 4-September-2016
Kick-off: 17:00 UK
Venue: LFF Stadium, Vilnius.
Lithuania are gearing themselves up for another ill fated
qualification campaign. They are perennially towards the bottom end of
their qualification group, and their Euro 2016 qualifying period was no
different. They finished second from bottom in their group with ten
points, nine more than whipping boys San Marino but 11 adrift of the
qualification spots.
Now they have to face the likes of England,
Malta, Scotland, Slovakia, and Slovenia in World Cup qualifying, and I
think it’s going to be a very tough couple of years for them.
Their
last match was a relative success though as they held Poland to a
goalless draw in the build up to Euro 2016. They have only won two of
their last 16 matches though, losing 11 and drawing three. This includes
a defeat to Malta and Slovenia, both of whom are set to face them in
qualifying.
Slovenia finished Euro 2016 qualifying six points
ahead of Lithuania in 3rd position, and therefore entered the playoffs.
They couldn’t make it past Ukraine though as they lost 3-1 on aggregate,
and it’s unlikely that they will be up there challenging at the end of
this qualifying period.
Their last match was a 1-0 defeat to
Turkey in the warm up friendlies for Euro 2016, with that defeat making
it three losses, three draws, and three victories in their last nine
matches. Away from home they have only won two of their last eight
outings though, although one of them was against Lithuania.
Slovenia
may not be the best away from home, but they have the advantage in
terms of quality over Lithuania. The likes of Robert Beric and Jan Oblak
provide genuine quality in their ranks and they have a good recent
record against Lithuania. I think odds of 6/5 for a Slovenia Win on
Sunday are excellent value for money, so I’m going for that along with a
2-1 correct score prediction at 9/1.
Lithuania vs Slovenia: Head-to-Head
All of the four competitive meetings between Slovenia and Lithuania were during the European Qualification campaigns, the latest for the 2016 edition.
Lithuania lead the head-to-head with 2 wins, 1 draw and a loss from the four matches. During the Euro 1996 qualification round, Lithuania won both home and away legs by the same 2-1 margin.
The latest meeting was at Ljubljana, which end in a 1-1 stalemate. While Slovenia won the leg in Vilnius by 2-0 margin.
Lithuania vs Slovenia: Prediction
The home side, Lithuania are huge underdogs here. They are ranked 125 in the FIFA rankings and are short on experience at the international level. While the 59th ranked Slovenia might look like favourites, they are also an inexperienced side at the international ground. However, with a number of players from Europe’s elite league gives them a much needed edge over the Balkan opponents.
Slovenia has plenty of worries in the goal scoring department as they are left with 2 goals from their last five matches. The likes of Josip Illicic, Roman Bezjak and Robert Beric have scored 4 goals between them from 61 appearances. Lithuania will be ultra-defensive and match could open up in the final 15 minutes. A goal-less draw is highly probably and a 1-0 win possible for either sides. So it is better to bet on under 2.5 goals for this World Cup qualification match.
