Valletta, Birkirkara hope to return to winning ways

BOV-Premier-LeagueValletta and Birkirkara will be all out to return to winning ways on Friday as the two teams cross swords in one of the four BOV Premier League matches in programme at the National Stadium and Hibernians Stadium.

Leaders Balzan hope to extend their positive run as they take on St. Andrews, Hibernians face Gzira United and Mosta meet Hamrun Spartans.

Balzan vs St. Andrews, kick-off 18:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Balzan will be aiming for a sixth win in seven matches as they take on St. Andrews. They registered back-to-back wins over Hibs and Gzira in their last two outings. On the other hand, the Saints are currently joint-second from bottom with four defeats from six matches. They lost 0-1 to Mosta on Monday.

Justin Grioli is ruled out through suspension for Balzan. St. Andrews, on the other hand, are expected to be in full strength.

Hibernians vs Gzira United, kick-off 20:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Following a fine 2-0 win over Valletta, Hibs will be all out to collect the three points as they take on Gzira United who are coming from a 1-3 defeat to Balzan. Hibs won four of the last five matches while Gzira lost two of the last three matches.

Clayton Failla is in doubt for Hibernians while Robert and Tony will be back for Gzira after serving a suspension.

Mosta vs Hamrun Spartans, kick-off 18:00 at National Stadium
Mosta and Hamrun will battle out for precious points as the Blues won two out of the last three matches and the Spartans won just one out of the last five games. In their last outing, Mosta defeated St. Andrews 1-0 while Hamrun held Floriana in a 1-1 draw.

Christian Maldini is ruled out injured for Hamrun.

Valletta vs Birkirkara, kick-off 20:00 at National Stadium
Valletta and Birkirkara will be hoping to return to winning ways after disappointing in recent outings. The Citizens won their first three matches but after a draw with Balzan, they lost 0-2 both to Floriana and Hibernians. The Stripes, on the other hand, lost two out of the last three matches, losing to Sliema Wanderers and Pembroke Athleta.

Valletta coach Paul Zammit has to deal with the absence of the injured Roderick Briffa and Claudio Pani and the suspended Uchenna Umeh and Leandro Aguirre. Christian Bubalovic is ruled out injured for Birkirkara.