Zalgiris Vilnius vs. Malmö: Preview and betting tips

On Tuesday, the second preliminary round of the European Cups begins, with Zalgiris Vilnius taking on Malmö in the Champions League. What to expect from the Lithuanian and Swedish champions and what to bet on?

Vilnius’ season is in full swing, they knocked out Kosovo’s Ballkani in the first Champions League preliminary round, they are on a roll on the league scene, they are first with a three-point lead and they have two games in hand.

Malmö made it through to the second round by a single goal over Reykjavik, and have climbed from mid-table to third place in the league. From there, they are three points off the top, but the Swedish league is very balanced so far and every loss of points is noticeable.

The mainstay of the home team is thirty-five-year-old central midfielder Mantas Kuklys, author of four goals and two assists. Brazilian forward Renan Olivera, visiting from Kovalivka, has made nine saves and assisted on one goal.

On the away side, it was firing for Veljko Birmancevic, the Serbian winger scored five times and assisted three times. Experienced Danish international and team captain Anders Christiansen scored three goals and assisted on two.

Zalgiris relies on a goal-scoring attack, scoring more than one goal in five of the last six games.

Malmö is even better, scoring more than once in seven of the last eight with an average of 2.25 goals per game.

Given Malmö’s scoring form and experience in similar matches, I think they will win in Lithuania.