Pembroke, Mosta in desperate chase for points

Bottom duo Mosta and Pembroke Athleta will be all out to earn precious points on Saturday as they take on Birkirkara and Gzira United respectively in two of the BOV Premier League matches in programme at the National Stadium and the Hibernians Stadium.

St. Andrews cross swords with Sliema Wanderers while Tarxien Rainbows face Hamrun Spartans in the other two matches.

Gzira United vs Pembroke Athleta, kick-off 16:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Gzira target a fifth win in six matches as they take on bottom-placed Pembroke who are coming from five consecutive defeats, including the defeat to Mosta following a protest. The Maroons now share the eighth place with Hamrun Spartans and St. Andrews, twelve ahead of Mosta and fourteen ahead of Pembroke. In their last league outing, Gzira defeated Mosta 4-1 while Pembroke lost 0-3 to Hibernians.

Gzira will be without the suspended Zachary Scerri but Clifford Gatt Baldacchino will be back after serving a one-match ban. Pembroke also welcome back goalkeeper Matthew Calleja Cremona.

The Maroons defeated Pembroke 3-0 in the first round but the second round clash ended in a goalless draw.

St. Andrews vs Sliema Wanderers, kick-off 18:00 at Hibernians Stadium
St. Andrews target a fifth consecutive positive result as they take on Sliema Wanderers. They held Birkirkara, Floriana and Hamrun in draws and defeated Tarxien. The Wanderers, on the other hand, defeated Gzira and held Birkirkara in a draw in their last two outings and now sit comfortably in sixth place, ten points behind fifth-placed Birkirkara and six ahead of seventh-placed Tarxien.

The Wanderers could not count on the suspended Frank Temile while St. Andrews are expected to be in full strength.

The Saints defeated Sliema 3-0 in the first round with the second round clash ending in a 1-1 draw.

Tarxien Rainbows vs Hamrun Spartans, kick-off 16:00 at National Stadium
Tarxien Rainbows will be hoping to end their disappointing run after losing their last five matches with an identical 0-1 score. Defeats which allowed Gzira, St. Andrews and the same Hamrun to move to just one point behind them. Similarly the Spartans failed to impress in recent outings after collecting just two points in draws out of the last seven matches. Therefore both sides will be hoping to return to winning ways.

In the previous rounds, Tarxien had defeated Hamrun 2-1 and 3-2.

Birkirkara vs Mosta, kick-off 18:00 at National Stadium
Birkirkara seek the three points from the clash with Mosta in their bid to regain fourth place although this could still not guarantee a place in Europe this summer. Birkirkara lie eight points behind third-placed Valletta and one behind Floriana. They are coming from four positive results – wins over Tarxien and Hamrun and draws with St. Andrews and Sliema.

Mosta, on the other hand, conceded no less than nineteen goals in the last four matches after suffering heavy defeats to Balzan, Valletta, Hibernians and Gzira. Against Birkirkara, they could not count on the suspended Pedro dos Santos Calcado.

In the previous rounds, Birkirkara registered two identical 2-0 wins over Mosta.