2016 A Lyga
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| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Žalgiris |
| Champions League | Žalgiris |
| Europa League | Trakai Sūduva Marijampolė Atlantas |
| Matches | 129 |
| Goals | 358 (2.78 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andrija Kaluđerović (20 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Sūduva 6–1 Stumbras (22 October 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Stumbras 0–5 Žalgiris (24 June 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Stumbras 3–6 Žalgiris (12 March 2016) |
| Longest winning run | Žalgiris (9 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Žalgiris (16 games) |
| Longest winless run | Kauno Žalgiris (16 games) |
| Longest losing run | Utenis (6 games) |
| Highest attendance | 1,500[1] Žalgiris 2–0 Trakai (2 March 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 50[2] Kauno Žalgiris 1–3 Utenis (22 April 2016) |
| Total attendance | 63,515 |
| Average attendance | 501 |
← 2015 2017 → | |
The 2016 A Lyga, also known as SMSCredit.lt A Lyga for sponsoring purposes was the 27th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 2 March and ended on 26 November 2016.[3] Žalgiris Vilnius were the defending champions.
Changes from 2015
FK Šiauliai failed to obtain a license to play in the A Lyga and were relegated alongside FK Kruoja, which withdrew and FK Klaipedos Granitas, which was disqualified. They were replaced by FK Lietava Jonava, which will make its debut at the top level. FK Spyris Kaunas changed its name to FK Kauno Žalgiris.[4]
The league reduced its number of teams from ten sides down to eight. As a consequence, each team will play every other four times, twice at home and twice away with the top six then playing an additional round against each other.[3]
Clubs and locations
The following teams are competing in the 2016 championship:[5]
| Club | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | 2015 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Central Stadium of Klaipėda | Natural | 4,428 | 3rd |
| Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch[6] | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 5th |
| NFA Stadium[7] | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Lietava | Jonava | Central Stadium of Jonava | Natural | 1,008 | I Lyga, 1st |
| KaunasSL | NFA Stadium[8] | Artificial | 500 | ||
| KėdainiaiSL | Kėdainiai Stadium[9] | Artificial | 3,000 | ||
| Stumbras | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 7th |
| NFA Stadium[10] | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 4th |
| ARVI Football Indoor Arena[11] | Artificial | 2,660 | |||
| Trakai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd |
| Sportima Arena[12] | Artificial | 3,157 | |||
| Utenis | Utena | Utenis Stadium | Natural | 3,073 | 6th |
| VisaginasSL | Visaginas Artificial Football Pitch[13] | Artificial | 212 | ||
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 1st |
| Sportima Arena[14] | Artificial | 3,157 |
^ Stadium location
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head coach(es) | Captain(s) | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas |  Konstantin Sarsania |
 Andrius Bartkus |
Jako | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Laimis Bičkauskas |
Ignas Dedura |
Joma | BC Žalgiris |
| Lietava | Robertas Poškus[15] |
Laurynas Stonkus |
Joma[16] | Achema |
| Stumbras | Darius Gvildys Mariano Barreto[17] |
Artūras Rimkevičius Nerijus Mačiulis |
Hummel | Novecorum Group |
| Sūduva |  Aleksandar Veselinović Eivinas Černiauskas (caretaker) Vladimir Cheburin[18] (interim) |
Tomas Radzinevičius |
Joma | Sumeda |
| Trakai | Valdas Urbonas Albert Rybak (interim) Serhiy Kovalets[19] |
Deividas Česnauskis |
Nike | Ecoil |
| Utenis | Mindaugas Čepas Oleh Boychyshyn (interim) |
Valentin Jeriomenko Robertas Freidgeimas |
Adidas[20] | Baltijos polistirenas[20] |
| Žalgiris | Valdas Dambrauskas |
Egidijus Vaitkūnas |
Nike[21] | TOP Sport[22] |
Regular season
Championship round
Relegation play-offs
The 7th placed team will face the runners-up of the 2016 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn entry into the 2017 A Lyga.
First leg
| Palanga | 2–3 | Utenis Utena |
|---|---|---|
Navikas  74'Bagužis 90+5' |
Report | Poruchynskyy 2', 44' Vereshchak 54' |
Second leg
| Utenis Utena | 0–1 | Palanga |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Juška 33' |
3–3 on aggregate. Utenis won on away goals.
Season statistics
Top scorers
|
Hat-tricks
|
