Estonia and Lithuania, the two former Soviet republics, face each other at A. Le Coq Arena in a friendly international. Estonia do not seem to be on top of their game at the moment, with the team suffering a loss in each of their previous five games in all competitions. The hosts are eager to put an end to the negative trend, but beating Lithuania, who impressed in a 1-0 win at Albania, is easier said than done. Bet9ja is currently offering excellent odds for these teams.
The Lithuanians quickly bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Kazakhstan, and they are surely capable of making life difficult for their neighbours. Seeing that under 2.5 goals have been netted in each of their last ten meetings on the international stage, a low-scoring affair is on the cards in Tallinn. This will be their first encounter since 2018 when Estonia defeated Lithuania 2-0 at the Baltic Cup. Try your luck with SportyBet and detailed match predictions from analysts.
This match will be played on 07/10/2020 at 19:00
HIGHLIGHTED PLAYER (RAGNAR KLAVAN):
Ragnar Klavan is a defender who started his senior career at Elva. After playing for Tulevik an Flora between 2002 and 2005, the Estonian footballer joined Heracles Almelo on 4 August, 2005. Klavan made his debut for Heracles five days later and he scored his first goal for the club on 31 December, 2005, in a 2-2 draw with Vitesse.
In 2009 he was sent on loan to AZ Alkmaar and he signed a permanent deal with the Dutch outfit on 4 February, 2009. He played 12 games for AZ in the 2008/2009 season and it has to be noted that the Cheeseheads won the national championship that season. He played for AZ Alkmaar until 2 July, 2012 when he decided to move to Germany.
The Estonian defender signed a two-year deal with Augsburg and he made no less than 125 appearances for the German club between 2012 and 2016. Klavan impressed in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga campaign and, as a result, Liverpool chiefs decided to sign him on 20 July, 2016. He made his Estonia debut on 3 July, 2013 against fellow Baltic side Lithuania.
HIGHLIGHTED TEAM (LITHUANIA):
Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Union in 1940 and 50 years later they regained their independence. The Lithuania national football team played their first official game on June 24, 1923, with the team suffering a heavy 5-0 loss to Estonia in Kaunas.
The former Soviet republic have yet to book their place at the finals of a major tournament, but they were competitive in the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifiers as they managed to play out a draw with Germany on the road. Lithuania managed to beat Scotland in the qualifiers for the 2004 European Championship, but they eventually failed to book their place at the showpiece tournament in Portugal. Marius Stankevicius is considered Lithuania’s most notable footballer as he played for the likes of Lazio, Hannover, Sampdoria, Sevilla and Valencia in the past.
LFF Stadium is the home ground of the Lithuania national football team and the venue, who capacity is 5.067, was opened in 2004. Lithuania play their home games on artificial turf.
