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Zalgiris welcome Struga to the LFF stadionas for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifying tie on Tuesday (July 11). The hosts booked their spot in the qualifiers as Lithuanian A Lyga champions, while Struga qualified as Macedonian MFL winners.
Zalgiris are coming off a comfortable 3-0 home win over Riteriai in the league on Thursday. Stipe Vucur, Mathias Oyewusi and Ovidijus Verbickas found the back of the net to inspire the win.
Struga, meanwhile, have not been in competitive action since suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Makedonija GP in the Macedonian Cup final in May. They have played pre-season friendlies in preparation for the new campaign, with their most recent game seeing them fall to a 2-1 defeat against Tirana.
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The winner of this qualifying tie will face Turkish champions Galatasaray in the second qualifying round.
Zalgiris vs Struga Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
- Zalgiris are on an eight-game unbeaten streak, winning six games.
- Struga have scored at least twice in six of their last seven competitive games.
- Four of Zalgiris' last five home games have produced at least three goals.
- Five of Struga's last seven away games have had goals at both ends.
- Zalgiris became the first Lithuanian club to participate in the group stage of a UEFA club competition when they played the Conference League last season.
- Five of Zalgiris' last six games, including the last four, have had more goals in the second half than the first.
Zalgiris vs Struga Prediction
Struga have had a meteoric rise in recent years, culminating in winning a maiden league title last season. The feat was made more impressive by the fact that they were in the third division six seasons ago.
Zalgiris, meanwhile, made history last term by qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage. The Green Whites will look to defy expectations by taking it one step further.
Struga will fancy their chances of getting a positive result and look to play the game on the front foot. Nevertheless, expect Zalgiris to claim a narrow win with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Zalgiris 2-1 Struga
Zalgiris vs Struga Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Zalgiris to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - Highest scoring half: Second half
