Mosta, Pembroke cross swords in decisive match against relegation

Mosta and Pembroke Athleta cross swords in a direct clash against relegation in one of the four BOV Premier League matches in programme on Friday at the National Stadium and the Hibernians Stadium.

The third place is also at stake for Valletta and Birkirkara who take on Hamrun Spartans and Floriana respectively. Sliema Wanderers face Balzan in the other game.

Mosta vs Pembroke Athleta, kick-off 18:00 at National Stadium
Mosta and Pembroke will be all out to take the three points in this direct clash as the loser would be condemned to playing in Division 1 next season with the winner facing First Division side Qormi in the play-off. In case of a draw, a decider would be necessary to determine which team would be relegated.

The Blues won two out of the last four matches but are coming from a 0-2 defeat to Floriana. Pembroke, on the other hand, defeated Hamrun but lost 0-2 to Sliema.

Pedro dos Santos Calcado and Daren Falzon will be back for Mosta and Pembroke respectively but the latter could not count on the suspended Miguel Attard.

Pembroke defeated Mosta 3-0 in the first round and 5-0 in the second but the result was turned into a 3-0 win for Mosta following a protest over an alleged match-fixing attempt.

Hamrun Spartans vs Valletta, kick-off 20:00 at National Stadium
After collecting just two points from the last four matches and suffering back-to-back defeats to St. Andrews and Tarxien, Valletta will be hoping to return to winning ways and beat Hamrun in their bid to secure third place which they now share with Birkirkara. The Spartans failed to win any of the last thirteen matches but managed to hold Balzan in a 1-1 draw last week.

Manolito Micallef is suspended for Hamrun but Karl Micallef will be back after serving a one-match ban. Valletta, on the other hand, welcome back Steve Borg but Jonathan Caruana is suspended.

Valletta defeated Hamrun 3-0 and 2-0 in the previous rounds.

Sliema Wanderers vs Balzan, kick-off 18:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Sliema will be hoping to end the season on a positive note by extending their positive run to nine matches as they take on second-placed Balzan who lost three out of the last seven matches.

Alan da Silva Souza should be back for Balzan while Denni should return for Sliema.

Following a 1-1 draw in the first round, Sliema beat Balzan 2-1 in the second round.

Floriana vs Birkirkara, kick-off 20:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Birkirkara will be all out to take the three points in their bid to secure third place, hoping that Valletta fail to beat Hamrun. Floriana, on the other hand, ended their commitments in fifth place and are now fully focussed on the FA Trophy.

Floriana could not field their best formation as Jurgen Pisani and Mario Fontanella are both suspended but Sebastian Nayar will be back after skipping the last game. Miguel Angel Alba and Srdjan Dimitrov return for Birkirkara.

The first round clash ended in a 1-1 draw but Floriana beat Birkirkara 2-1 in the second round.