FK Kauno Žalgiris vs Beşiktaş prediction 27.08.2026 | Europa League

Kauno Žalgiris return to Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas after a 3:0 defeat against Beşiktaş in last Thursday’s first leg in Istanbul.

Željko Sopić’s side were second best throughout last week’s first leg. Kauno failed to register a shot on target and faced 21 attempts in a one-sided away reversal. 

The Lithuanian champions have now failed to win their last three matches, including a 1:1 draw against TransINVEST in their most recent domestic fixture.

Before their recent sumbles, Zalgiris began their European campaign in the Champions League, edging past Drita 4:3 on aggregate before a 1:0 aggregate victory against KÍ Klaksvík. However, Kauno dropped down into the Europa League playoffs after a 7:1 aggregate defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the third round of Champions League qualification. 

Head coach Sopić has no new injury concerns this week. Lirim Kastrati and Motiejus Burba could come into the starting lineup after making half-time substitute appearances in last week’s first leg.

Beşiktaş make the trip to Lithuania with a commanding advantage after an excellent first-leg performance in Istanbul.

Hyeon-gyu Oh headed the Black Eagles into a sixth-minute lead before Amir Murillo doubled their advantage six minutes later.

Captain Orkun Kökçü converted a second-half penalty to complete a dominant victory for the Turks.

Vincenzo Italiano’s men suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday with a 1:0 loss against Alanyaspor. Before that setback, Beşiktaş had won six of their seven competitive fixtures this season, keeping clean sheets in all six victories.

Italiano could make some changes to his first XI this week. Dušan Vlahović, Milot Rashica, Amir Hadžiahmetović and Kassoum Ouattara are among those in contention to earn recalls to the first XI.