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Kauno Zalgiris welcome Besiktas to Dariaus and Gireno Stadium on Thursday for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff tie, with the Turkish side carrying a commanding 3-0 advantage from last week's meeting in Istanbul.
The Lithuanian champions must score at least three times without reply to force extra time, while the visitors can afford to manage the game conservatively as they look to complete a comfortable aggregate victory and secure their place in the Europa League league phase.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Kauno Zalgiris vs Besiktas key stats
- Besiktas have won all their last two Europa League qualifying matches without conceding.
- Besiktas have kept clean sheets in six of their last seven competitive matches.
- Kauno Zalgiris have scored just once across their last three European matches.
- Besiktas scored three goals in their first leg against Kauno Zalgiris,their highest-scoring competitive match of the season.
Kauno Zalgiris vs Besiktas preview: Black Eagles hold commanding advantage
Kauno Zalgiris vs Besiktas — Tale of the Tape
| Kauno Zalgiris | vs | Besiktas |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd in A Lyga | Position | 12th in Super Lig |
| 38 | Points | 3 |
| 41 | Goals For | 1 |
| 16 | Goals Against | 1 |
| 11 | Clean Sheets | 1 |
| 2nd | Home / Away Rank | 14th |
Besiktas travel to Lithuania with one foot firmly in the Europa League league phase after producing their most convincing attacking performance of the campaign in last week's first leg.
Vincenzo Italiano's side needed only six minutes to take control when Hyeon-gyu Oh opened the scoring, with Amir Murillo doubling their advantage another six minutes later.
Orkun Kokcu then converted from the penalty spot shortly before the hour mark after Oh was brought down, giving Besiktas a three-goal cushion that leaves Kauno Zalgiris facing an enormous task in the return fixture.
The result was particularly significant because Besiktas had not previously scored more than twice in a competitive match this season, making the three-goal performance their most productive display since the campaign began.
Their defensive record had also been outstanding before Sunday's trip to Alanyaspor, with six consecutive clean sheets across all competitions demonstrating how effectively Italiano has organised his side.
That sequence eventually ended in a 1-0 defeat at Alanyaspor, but the result does little to alter the overall picture heading into Thursday's second leg because Besiktas remain three goals ahead on aggregate.
Italiano can also rotate his squad without needing to chase the match, which should allow him to protect important players while retaining enough experience and quality to prevent Kauno from building sustained pressure.
The Lithuanian champions therefore face the difficult task of attacking a Besiktas side that has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to defend leads.
Kauno have enjoyed a respectable domestic campaign and remain third in the A Lyga, four points behind leaders Suduva despite having played one fewer match.
Their most recent league outing ended in a 1-1 draw against Transinvest, however, meaning Sopic's side enter the second leg without a victory from their latest competitive fixture.
European competition has exposed greater weaknesses, with Kauno suffering a 5-0 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League third qualifying round before losing the return fixture 2-1, resulting in a 7-1 aggregate elimination.
That experience should have prepared Sopic for the difficulty of facing a much stronger opponent, but last week's 3-0 defeat suggests Kauno still have a considerable gap to bridge if they are to compete successfully at this level.
The hosts must attack from the outset because anything less than three goals will leave them unable to force extra time, but committing players forward could leave spaces for Besiktas to exploit.
That is particularly dangerous given the visitors' attacking options, with Oh already making a decisive contribution in the first leg and Kokcu demonstrating his ability to punish mistakes from the penalty spot.
Kauno's most realistic objective may therefore be to produce a more competitive performance than they managed in Istanbul rather than attempt to overturn the entire deficit.
Kauno Zalgiris vs Besiktas form guide & betting tips
| Kauno Zalgiris | vs | Besiktas |
|---|---|---|
L
W
L
D
L
|
Form | W
W
W
W
L
|
| 4 | Goals For | 6 |
| 11 | Goals Against | 1 |
W
L
L
|
Europa League qualifying | W
W
W
|
Whispers predicts: Kauno Zalgiris 0-2 Besiktas
We predict Besiktas to win at 1.36 (4/11), while Under 2.5 goals is priced at around 1.95 (20/21). The Turkish side should have enough quality to secure another victory without needing to reproduce the three-goal performance from the first leg, making Besiktas to win to nil at around 2.10 (11/10) an appealing alternative.
> Match result – Besiktas to win at 1.36 (4/11) | Likelihood: Likely
> Under 2.5 goals at 1.95 (20/21) | Likelihood: Probable
> Besiktas to win to nil at 2.10 (11/10) | Likelihood: Possible
> Correct score – Kauno Zalgiris 0-2 Besiktas at 6.20 (26/5) | Likelihood: Outsider