Four of the five matches in the third round of Lithuania’s Toplyga will be played today in a packed Saturday schedule, beginning at 13:00 when Džiugas Telšiai attempt to become the first team this season to take points from defending champions Kauno Žalgiris. The day concludes with an evening clash in Panevėžys, where FA Šiauliai host Žalgiris Vilnius, while the schedule also features a rematch of last season’s Lithuanian Cup final.
After two rounds, Kauno Žalgiris remain the only team with a perfect record, although both victories came narrowly. The champions opened the season with a 1-0 win over FK Riteriai before edging Banga Gargždai by the same scoreline in their second match. Today they face Džiugas Telšiai, managed by head coach Andrius Lipskis, whose team has again started the season strongly with four points from two matches, continuing a pattern seen in recent years.
Last season the two clubs met four times in league play. Džiugas won the first meeting of the campaign after scoring twice in the second half, but Kauno Žalgiris responded by winning the remaining three encounters. Today’s match will serve as another important test for the champions coached by Eivinas Černiauskas.
An hour later, Panevėžys will host FC Hegelmann as both sides search for their first victory of the season. Each team has collected one point from their opening two matches. Hegelmann drew against Džiugas before losing to Banga Gargždai, while Panevėžys began with a draw against Sūduva and then fell to Žalgiris Vilnius.
The two sides were frequent opponents last year, meeting four times in the league. Hegelmann won three of those encounters, with Panevėžys claiming one victory. However, the most important meeting between the clubs came in the Lithuanian Cup final, where Panevėžys lifted the trophy after Ariagner Smith scored the decisive goal against the Kaunas district side.
Shortly afterward, FK Sūduva will begin their match looking for their first goals of the season. The club has opened the campaign with two consecutive 0-0 draws and now hosts FK TransInvest in Marijampolė, at the arena now since Wednesday known as Mantinga Football Arena.
TransInvest have been one of the early surprises of the season. They may feel they should have collected the full six points from their opening two matches after letting a two-goal lead slip against Šiauliai, but they responded strongly by defeating FK Riteriai 3-0 in their second match. The current league top scorer is 29-year-old Spanish attacking midfielder Xabi Auzmendi, who has scored three goals in two games. Auzmendi previously spent two successful seasons at Sūduva between 2021 and 2022, recording 13 goals and 21 assists in 70 appearances, making today’s match a reunion with his former club.
The day concludes with an evening match in Šiauliai, where FA Šiauliai will attempt to slow down Žalgiris Vilnius, currently the highest-scoring team in the league with six goals after two matches. Vilnius have recorded one win and one loss so far and sit fourth in the table.
Šiauliai, meanwhile, have undergone major changes during the offseason and are still searching for their first win of the campaign after drawing both opening matches. Under new head coach Jurģis Pučinsks, the club will hope home advantage helps them claim their first three points of the season.
Round 4
FK Panevėžys
FK Sūduva
FA Šiauliai
FK Banga
Džiugas Telšiai| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kauno Žalgiris |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | FK Banga |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | FK Žalgiris |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | FK Sūduva |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Transinvest |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Džiugas Telšiai |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | FA Šiauliai |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
| 8 | FC Hegelmann |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
| 9 | FK Panevėžys |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 2 |
| 10 | FK Riteriai |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | -9 | 0 |
