Lithuania-Montenegro is a match valid for the fifth day of Group G of Euro 2024 qualifiers and is played Thursday at 6 p.m.: predictions.
On one side a selection, Lithuania, pinned to last place in the group with only one point won in three games and now with one and a half feet out of the qualification games. On the other is the ambitious Montenegro, which dreams of playing third wheel in the fight for the first two positions – the only ones that guarantee a direct pass to Euro 2024 – occupied today by Serbia and Hungary, both paired on 7 points.
Miodrag Radulovic’s national team, on the other hand, has only 4 but is more alive than ever. That is the feeling after the first three matches, in which Jovetic and his teammates – by the way, the former Fiorentina and Inter Milan striker and the most representative player of this selection has just been drafted by Olympiacos – recorded one win, one loss and one draw. Montenegro surrendered only to their Serbian cousins, who went 2-0 down in Podgorica, but went on to win in Bulgaria (0-1) and forced a draw against Hungary (0-0). An extra effort will inevitably be needed for qualification. With this in mind, no mistakes are allowed in the Kaunas challenge against what is for all intents and purposes the group’s mattress team. Coach Radulovic will also rely on the prolific streak of Lecce striker Krstovic, who has already scored twice in the first three days of Serie A with the Salentini.
Montenegro sets its sights on Krstovic
The situation in which Lithuania finds itself is bleak: the Baltics haven’t even won in thirteen games: the last success was in March 2022, in a friendly against San Marino.
The Lithuanian Vorobjovas
Edgaras Jankauskas has so far failed to turn things around. His Lithuania, fresh from a disastrous Nations League, lost 2-0 to Serbia and Hungary and drew 1-1 with the Bulgarians. It is a selection that scores with the dropper, but at the same time concedes very few goals: it has not conceded more than two in any of its last 10 matches. In 2018 the last precedent with Montenegro: in the European Championship qualifiers the Balkans got the better of both the first leg and the return leg (2-0 and 1-4).
The Prediction
Montenegro has much more quality than Lithuania and should come back with three points in their pockets from Kaunas, while also keeping the goal untouched. As for possible scorers, one can put a token on Leccese Krstovic, who has been inspired in recent outings for the Giallorossi.
The probable lineups of Kazakhstan-Finland
- LITUANIA (5-4-1): Gertmonas; Lekiatas, Kazukolovas; Kilmavicius, Tutyskinas; Gineitis, Uzela; Jankauskas, Sirgedas, Sesplaukis; Paulauskas.
- MONTENEGRO (4-3-3): Mijatovic; Vujacic, Savic, Tomasevic; Vesovic, Jankovic, Savicevic, Scekic, Vukcevic; Jovetic, Krstovic
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1