# 2020 A Lyga

The 2020 A Lyga was the 31st season of the A Lyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 6 March and was planned to end on 7 November 2020. On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Teams

FK Sūduva Marijampolė begin the season as defending champions having won their third consecutive league title last year.
Three clubs dropped out of A Lyga last season - Stumbras folded in the summer, while Atlantas and Palanga were disqualified after the end of the season after investigation revealed numerous match-fixing incidents.

### Licensing process

The top 5 previous season's teams - FK Sūduva Marijampolė, FK Žalgiris, FK Riteriai, FK Kauno Žalgiris and FK Panevėžys met licensing criteria and received a straight pass to their licenses. Disqualified FK Palanga and FK Atlantas appealed the disqualification decision and expressed interest in playing in A Lyga. Their appeals were rejected.
Five of the I Lyga teams applied for A Lyga licenses - FK Banga Gargždai, FC Džiugas, Vilniaus Vytis, DFK Dainava and FC Hegelmann Litauen. The previous year's I Lyga winners FC Džiugas failed to meet A Lyga licensing criteria, and their application was rejected. FC Džiugas will continue playing in I Lyga this season. FK Banga Gargždai won the play-off match against FK Palanga and earned the right to play in A Lyga. Their A Lyga license was granted upon appeal. Vilniaus Vytis and DFK Dainava did not earn promotion to A Lyga, however they were hoping for exceptions which are common in Lithuanian football. In this instance their applications were rejected on the grounds of failing to meet several critical criteria. FC Hegelmann Litauen withdrew their application prior to the licensing committee's meeting. This meant that only six teams will play in the 2020 A Lyga championship. The LFF announced that four I Lyga teams will qualify for promotion to A Lyga next season.
2020 A Lyga competitors :
| Club | Location | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Seasons in A Lyga | 2019 position |
| Banga | Gargždai | Gargždai Stadium | Artificial | 2,323 | 7 | 2nd in LFF I lyga |
| Banga | Gargždai | — | — | — | 7 | 2nd in LFF I lyga |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | SM Tauras Stadium | Natural | 500 | 6 | 4th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 6 | 4th |
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | 2 | 5th |
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 2 | 5th |
| Riteriai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 7 | 3rd |
| Riteriai | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 7 | 3rd |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Sūduva Stadium (Hikvision Arena) | Natural | 6,250 | 18 | 1st |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena (Hikvision FIA) | Artificial | 2,660 | 18 | 1st |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 19 | 2nd |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 19 | 2nd |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Banga | Tomas Tamošauskas | Deividas Padaigis | Nike | - |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Rokas Garastas | Linas Pilibaitis | Hummel | BC Žalgiris |
| Panevėžys | João Luís Martins | Paulius Janušauskas | Hummel | Kalnapilis |
| Riteriai | Tommi Pikkarainen | Valdemaras Borovskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Sūduva | Saulius Širmelis | Algis Jankauskas | Joma | Hikvision |
| Žalgiris | Aleksey Baga | Saulius Mikoliūnas | Nike | Top Sport |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Riteriai | Albert Rybak | end of caretaker spell | 3 January 2020 | Mindaugas Čepas | 7 January 2020 |
| Sūduva | Vladimir Cheburin | contract expiry | at the end of the 2019 season | Heimo Pfeifenberger | 8 January 2020 |
| Žalgiris | João Luís Martins | end of caretaker spell | 27 November 2019 | Aleksey Baga | 19 January 2020 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Mindaugas Čepas | contract expiry | 2 December 2019 | Rokas Garastas | 3 December 2019 |
| Sūduva | Heimo Pfeifenberger | contract termination | 14 April 2020 | Saulius Širmelis | 23 May 2020 |
| Panevėžys | Alexandru Curteian | contract termination | 15 June 2020 | João Luís Martins | 4 July 2020 |
| Riteriai | Mindaugas Čepas | resigned | 28 June 2020 | Vaidas Sabaliauskas (caretaker) | 28 June 2020 |
| Riteriai | Vaidas Sabaliauskas | end of caretaker spell | 26 July 2020 | Janusz Niedźwiedź | 26 July 2020 |
| Riteriai | Janusz Niedźwiedź | contract termination | 1 August 2020 | Vaidas Sabaliauskas (caretaker) | 1 August 2020 |
| Riteriai | Vaidas Sabaliauskas | end of caretaker spell | 11 August 2020 | Tommi Pikkarainen | 11 August 2020 |

## Regular season

On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Žalgiris (C) | 20 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 14 | +28 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Sūduva | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 43 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Kauno Žalgiris | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Banga | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 16 | |
| 5 | Panevėžys | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 12 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Riteriai | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 12 | |
* ↑ Panevėžys qualified for the Europa Conference League as the 2020 Lithuanian Football Cup winners.

### Fixtures and results
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Hugo Vidémont | Žalgiris | 13 |
| 2 | Josip Tadić | Sūduva | 11 |
| 3 | Linas Pilibaitis | Kauno Žalgiris | 8 |
| 4 | Liviu Antal | Žalgiris | 6 |
| 5 | Mihret Topčagić | Sūduva | 5 |
| 5 | Jorge Elias | Panevėžys | 5 |
| 6 | Emmanuel David | Kauno Žalgiris | 4 |
| 6 | Yuriy Bushman | Kauno Žalgiris | 4 |
| 6 | Semir Kerla | Sūduva | 4 |
| 6 | Valērijs Šabala | Sūduva | 4 |
| 6 | Richie Ennin | Žalgiris | 4 |
| 6 | Andrija Kaluđerović | Žalgiris | 4 |
Updated to match(es) played on 1 September 2020. Source: soccerway.com