Malta vs Lithuania Prediction and Analysis: A Cold-Blooded Strike in the Final Moment
The World Cup qualifying match between Malta and Lithuania will take place at 11:00 PM on June 7th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the teams' form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
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Latest team news for Malta vs Lithuania
Wigan Athletic defender James Carragher – son of Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher – was granted Maltese citizenship in February, under the circumstances of his maternal grandfather and mother being Maltese. He made his international debut in March and will be included in this call-up.
However, Ilyas Chouaref will be absent due to a two-match suspension following his red card against Poland. Kurt Shaw and Gabriel Mentz are also suspended, but will return for the match against the Netherlands next Tuesday.
Teddy Teuma (Reims) is likely to start in midfield; the 31-year-old midfielder, along with striker Kyrian Nwoko (Sliema Wanderers), are the two highest international goalscorers in the current squad with 4 goals each.
On the Lithuanian side, veteran midfielder Fedor Cernych is poised to become only the second player in the country's history to reach 100 caps for the national team – he is currently just two games short of Saulius Mikoliunas's milestone.
Edvinas Girdvainis and Kipras Kazukolovas are likely to start in defense, while Gineitis, Artur Dolznikov and Justas Lasickas could provide support behind striker Kucys.
Latest predicted lineups for Malta vs Lithuania
Malta:
Bonello; Z. Muscat, Carragher, Pepe; J. Mbong, Guillaumier, Teuma, Satariano, Camenzuli, Nwoko, P. Mbong
Lithuania:
Gertmonas; Sirvys, Kazukolovas, Girdvainis, Milasius; Matulevicius, Utkus; Dolznikov, Gineitis, Lasickas; Kucys
Latest football match prediction: Malta vs Lithuania
Malta has finished last in all seven of its most recent World Cup qualifying campaigns and is on track to remain bottom of the table after losing its first two Group G matches against Finland and Poland in March.
Under the guidance of new coach Emilio De Leo, appointed in January, Malta suffered a narrow 0-1 home defeat to Finland, before losing 0-2 away to Poland. Notably, they failed to convert any of their eight shots on target in those two matches – both ending with players being sent off.
The red-shirted team is now 4 points behind the second-placed team in Group G, and they have never qualified for a major tournament. In a total of 114 World Cup qualifying matches, Malta has only won three times – a figure that clearly shows the struggle in their journey to secure a ticket to the world's biggest football event.
Ranked 169th in the world according to the FIFA rankings, Malta has won one and drawn one of their three previous encounters with Lithuania, so they have reason to hope they won't suffer their 100th World Cup qualifying defeat this Saturday.
Furthermore, Lithuania is also in poor form, having not won in their last nine international matches. However, they recently ended an eight-match losing streak with a 2-2 draw against Finland, after falling two goals behind within the first 17 minutes. Goals from Armandas Kucys and Gvidas Gineitis – one in each half – helped them secure a point at home.
Under the leadership of Edgaras Jankauskas, Lithuania have scored in 9 of their last 12 matches across all competitions and are currently ranked 143rd in the FIFA rankings. Like Malta, they have not participated in a major tournament since independence; their best World Cup qualifying performance was in 1996 when they earned 16 points from 10 matches, finishing third in their group.
Since 2012, Lithuania has not won any of their last 13 World Cup qualifying matches (3 draws, 10 losses), and failed to score in 9 of those games, including their last 5. However, they did manage to secure 4 points in their last two World Cup qualifying encounters with Malta (1 win, 1 draw), including a 2-0 home victory in October 2016.
Latest Malta vs Lithuania score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Malta vs Lithuaniaas follows:
- Sportsmole:Malta 1-2 Lithuania
- WhoScore:Malta 0-2 Lithuania
- Our newspaper predicts:Malta 0-1 Lithuania
When and where can I watch Malta vs Lithuania live?
To watch the Malta vs Lithuania match live in the World Cup qualifiers, taking place at 11:00 PM on June 7th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.
