Turkey vs Lithuania

Turkey will be aiming to remain on the upwards trajectory when they take on out-of-sorts Lithuania at the Gürsel Aksel Stadyumu in a seemingly straightforward UEFA Nations League task.

Turkey have found their Nations League Group B1 a stroll thus far, as they come into this matchday on a run of three victories ‘to nil.’ With all three wins seeing the Turks score 2+ goals, at an average of four per game, the hosts should feel confident about building up on a scintillating 6-0 romping of Lithuania earlier this month. After racking up their most convincing triumph on hostile turf since 2005 in Vilnius, the ‘Crescent-Stars’ will seek another overwhelming success. Their last two home matches against sides ranked outside FIFA’s top 100 yielded victories by 4+ goals ‘to nil.’ Yet, a run of two wins from five home outings in the post-Euro 2020 period (D2, L1) suggests there’s no room for complacency.

As for Lithuania, despite taking an early lead against te Faroe Islands last time out, they fell to a 2-1 defeat, extending their losing streak to four matches. Having lost all three Group B1 fixtures, the visitors are on the verge of suffering relegation to League C. Another defeat in Izmir may all but cement a bottom-place finish for the Lithuanians, who have lost nine of their ten away internationals since the start of 2021 (W1). Based on Lithuania’s woeful record in this competition, another reverse is on the cards. The ‘Rinktine’ have lost 11 of their 15 Nations League contets (W2, D2), highlighting their status as pre-match outsiders.