Hibernians and Birkirkara seek a morale-boosting win as they cross swords in one of the four BOV Premier League matches in programme on Saturday.
St. Andrews and Lija Athletic target precious points in a direct clash at the bottom of the table. Balzan face Tarxien Rainbows while Mosta meet Senglea Athletic.
St. Andrews vs Lija Athletic, kick-off 14:00 at Centenary Stadium
After beating Tarxien in their last outing, Lija Athletic will be hoping to make it two wins in a row as they take on St. Andrews who are coming from four straight defeats although they lie two points ahead of Lija. For the latter, this first win in the BOV Premier League arrived after five consecutive defeats.
Erjon Beu is ruled out for Lija as he serves a one-match ban. St. Andrews, on the other hand, welcome back Matthew Robert Gauci, Enmy Pena Beltre and Kyle Butler after skipping the last game.
Balzan vs Tarxien Rainbows, kick-off 16:15 at Centenary Stadium
Balzan hope to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches with a fourth consecutive win as they take on Tarxien Rainbows who suffered three defeats in their last three outings and lie just three points ahead of bottom-placed Lija. On the other hand, Balzan would join Gzira temporarily on top the BOV Premier League table should they beat Tarxien.
Sean Cipriott is suspended for Tarxien while Balzan welcome back in squad Antonio Mitrev who captained they FYR Macedonia in the UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifiers where they won the group with maximum points, after defeating Belgium and Switzerland.
Mosta vs Senglea Athletic, kick-off 14:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Mosta and Senglea also seek precious points in a clash between two teams lying ninth and tenth respectively. The Blues won just one out of the last six matches but held Gzira in a 2-2 draw in their last outing. Senglea, on the other hand, lost four out of the last five matches.
Ivan Edgardo Paz is still ruled out through suspension for Senglea. Davide Mansi returns for Mosta after serving a suspension while Italian midfielder Daniele Biondo and Brazilian striker Wendel Alex Dos Santos will be at their disposal after joining the club last week.
Hibernians vs Birkirkara, kick-off 16:00 at Hibernians Stadium
Hibernians and Birkirkara seek a morale-boosting win in this direct clash. The Paolites won two out of the last five matches and are currently sixth on eighteen points. The Stripes, on the other hand, lost three out of the last five matches and lie five points behind the Paolites, in eighth place. In their last outings, Hibs drew 0-0 with Valletta while Birkirkara lost 1-2 to Balzan.