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American Express Community Stadium, Falmer, Brighton
Thursday 15 October 2026, 20:00 BST
Brighton open their Conference League league phase as one of the Premier League's form sides, sitting third in the table after six games and arriving off the back of a 2-0 win at Sunderland that kept their unbeaten run going.
Kauno Zalgiris land in Sussex top of the A Lyga and fresh from winning the Lithuanian Cup for the first time in the club's history, but Thursday's trip to the Amex is a considerable step up from anything Zeljko Sopic's side have faced domestically this season.
Brighton vs Kauno Zalgiris: Conference League preview and form guide
Fabian Hurzeler's side have scored 14 goals and conceded just three across their last five matches in all competitions, with three clean sheets in that run, including the 5-0 win at Coventry City and the 3-0 victory over Arsenal at home.
The run has not been entirely spotless over a longer stretch either, with Chelsea having beaten Brighton 4-3 last month, a reminder that this is an attacking side with defensive questions still to answer even while winning regularly.
Pascal Struijk was sent off in the 57th minute at Sunderland for hauling down Wilson Isidor, but the dismissal is a domestic one and carries no weight in a different competition, so the centre-back remains available for Thursday.
Brighton reached this stage by eliminating Tromso in the play-off round, drawing the first leg 0-0 away before winning 4-0 at home, and Georginio Rutter has been repeatedly backed by bookmakers this week as the man most likely to add to that European goal tally.
Brighton's depth has already been tested in cup competition this season, and a 3-2 win over Manchester United in the EFL Cup last month showed Hurzeler has options even with eight players sidelined.
Brighton being priced as such red-hot favourites for Thursday is reflected widely across the market, and anyone shopping around before kickoff can compare odds through the best new sports betting sites for the latest sign-up terms.
Kauno Zalgiris, by contrast, arrive in the form of their lives at home. They sit top of the A Lyga with 51 points from 28 matches, a record of 14 wins, nine draws and five defeats that leaves them one point clear of Suduva, who have played a game more.
Four days before travelling to Sussex, Sopic's side won the Lithuanian Cup for the first time in the club's history, beating Minija 3-0 in the final on 11 October.
That domestic form has not yet translated to continental level. Kauno Zalgiris were eliminated from Champions League qualifying by Dinamo Zagreb, including a 5-0 defeat in Croatia, before falling to Besiktas in Europa League qualifying despite winning the home leg of that tie.
Leon Krekovic's 83rd-minute winner saw off FK Panevezys last month, and the forward is one of several attacking options Sopic can call upon, though a jump from the A Lyga to a Premier League top-three side of Brighton's quality is a considerably different examination.
Kauno Zalgiris are playing their first-ever UEFA league-phase fixture this season, having come through an extended run of qualifying that took in both the Champions League and the Europa League before they landed in the Conference League.
That gulf in class is also visible in the betting, with Brighton rated among the shortest-priced favourites listed on the top 10 football betting sites this week.
Team news and predicted lineups: Brighton vs Kauno Zalgiris
Brighton team news
Hurzeler goes into Thursday's game without eight recognised first-teamers, the clearest measure yet of a crowded medical room even as the results keep coming.
Mats Wieffer, Jack Hinshelwood and Zadok Yohanna remain sidelined, while Yankuba Minteh continues his recovery from the leg problem picked up in a pre-season match against Roma.
Kaoru Mitoma and Stefanos Tzimas are longer-term absentees, with the Japan international still working his way back from a hamstring problem and Tzimas yet to return from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that has kept him out since last year, a recent setback pushing his comeback back further. Evan Ferguson remains some way off a first appearance of the season following ankle surgery.
Deadline-day signing Femi Azeez trained through the October international break and was described as close to involvement, but the forward was absent from the entire matchday squad for the win at Sunderland and has still to make his Brighton debut following his £15m move from Millwall.
Struijk's red card at Sunderland does not prevent him featuring in Europe, and Lewis Dunk is available again after sitting out the win over Arsenal with a minor neck issue.
Brighton predicted lineup vs Kauno Zalgiris
4-2-3-1: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Vuskovic, Struijk, Boscagli; Gross, Andres; Gomez, Ayari, De Cuyper; Rutter.
Kauno Zalgiris team news
Sopic has no fresh fitness concerns to manage before the trip to Sussex, with no injuries or suspensions reported across the Kauno Zalgiris squad in the build-up to Matchday One.
With a full squad to choose from, Sopic's selection headache is about freshness rather than fitness, after a Lithuanian Cup final and a Europa League qualifying tie against Besiktas were squeezed either side of a congested September.
Kauno Zalgiris predicted lineup vs Brighton
4-1-4-1: Svedkauskas; Moutachy, Tolordava, Lekiatas, Konatar; Baldassarra; Ribeiro, Benchaib, Sirgedas, Ourega; Renan.
Head-to-head: Brighton vs Kauno Zalgiris
Brighton and Kauno Zalgiris have never met, in any competition, at any level, which makes Thursday's tie the first instalment of a fixture nobody could have predicted a decade ago.
It is also a rare continental outing for Lithuanian club football against English opposition of this stature. Kauno Zalgiris's run to this stage, via Champions League and Europa League qualifying, is itself the furthest the club has advanced in Europe.
For Brighton, the absence of history works in their favour. There is no past result to defend and no complacency built from a routine fixture, only the straightforward task of seeing off opposition two divisions and several levels of continental experience below them.
Our Brighton vs Kauno Zalgiris prediction and betting tips
Readers comparing markets before kickoff can also weigh up the latest betting sign up offers available right now. bet365 price Brighton as prohibitive favourites to see off Kauno Zalgiris without reply, and our bet365 bookie review runs through everything else the operator offers beyond this fixture, while new customers can find the current terms in our bet365 sign up offer breakdown.
Odds correct as of Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 19:30 BST.
- Likely scorers: Rutter, Gomez
- Brighton to win to nil, continuing their recent clean-sheet form
- Kauno Zalgiris to struggle for a foothold against a significantly stronger defence than they face in the A Lyga
Adam is a freelance sports journalist with a decade of experience in the industry. Football is his passion, although he also follows darts and many other sports.
Adam supports Arsenal and local club Wealdstone, made famous by the Wealdstone Raider, who he has interviewed. Adam also follows the women's teams and the England national side.