The VBET Malta Premier 2026/27 kicks-off on Friday as newly-promoted Birzebbuga St. Peter’s and Balzan take on Floriana and Marsaxlokk respectively at the Centenary Stadium in the first two matches from the Opening Round league phase.
Birzebbuga St. Peter’s will be playing Premier football for the first time after defeating Swieqi United on penalties in the Challenge League promotion decider last season.
Coach Edgar Degabriele will be leading the Saints once again after helping them winning two consecutive promotions.
Charles Chibueke, William James England, Duvan Mosquera, Jamie Scerri, Chris Baker, Joey Reno Vella, Leo Agius, Randall Vella, Paul Lapira and goalkeeper James Pisani are no longer with the squad but Alex Bruno, Miguel Azzopardi, Jacob Walker, Juan Bolanos, Zachary Cassar, Matthew Xuereb, Hubert Vella Genovese, Daniel Zerafa and goalkeeper Julian Azzopardi were confirmed.
New arrivals include Alessandro Coppola, Jackson Mendoza, Yuri Messias, Gustavo Felipe, Shaun Dimech, Kurt Bondin, Mattia Santi, Stipe Tokić, Rasmus Thellufsen, Daishawn Redan, Sam Azimzadeh Tabrizi, Pietro Tomaselli and goalkeeper Matteo Chiesa.
In the Gammari Muscat Mosta Tournament, they managed to reach the final, losing only to Sliema Wanderers in the final.
Undoubtedly Birzebbuga will be aiming at retaining Premier status.
Their opponents on Friday are champions Floriana.
The Greens will be the team to beat after being the team who maintained the biggest consistency over the past two years, collecting the highest number of accumulated points throughout the season.
After confirming Daniel Portela as coach, Floriana secured the services of Paul Mbong, Nikita Shchepetkin, Yassine Jbira, Gaston Manuel Romano, Ange Curtis N Dri, Amar Drina, Tomislav Gudelj, Robert Muric and Kauan.
Gulherme Cioletti, Dunstan Vella, Zach Scerri and Carlo Zammit Lonardelli agreed new deals with the club while Aleandro Garzia, Jake Grech, Nathan Joyce, Charles M’Mombwa, Antonio Lara, Kouya Mabea, Gonzalo Gamarra, Chico Teixeira, Rui Areias were not retained or moved elsewhere.
This summer, Floriana were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, losing 3-5 on aggregate to Shamrock Rovers and then from the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, losing 2-3 on aggregate to FC Drita.
Claiming the title will definitely be the main objective for the Greens.
The other newly-promoted side, Balzan, will be making a return to the Malta Premier after an absence of one year after claiming the BOV Challenge League title last season.
Led once again by Andrew Cohen, Balzan will be aiming to establish themselves once again among the elite.
The squad was strengthened with the signing of goalkeeper Manuel Djaló, Macula, Leo Fernandes, Rosiel, Sekala Guehi, Isaac Davey and Emmanuel Asante, Nikola Djoric, Nikola Ignjatovic and Mohammed Marzuq Yahaya.
Jake Engerer, Lydon Micallef, Joseph Zerafa, Alex Cini, Lennon Thompson Stephen Gabriel Chiemezie and Michael Silva Oliveira are no longer with the club.
Retaining their Premier status will be the main objective for Balzan.
Their opponents on Friday, Marsaxlokk,
The Southseasiders, led by coach Enzo Potenza, made minimal changes to their squad as they signed Andrea Cassar, Lucas Caruana, Matheus Silva and Oleksiy Bykov and confirmed Christoffer Mafoumbi, Joseph Minala, Leandro Aguirre, Dodo, Domantas Simkus, Rasmus Linden, Isaac Christie-Davies, Redon Mihana and Ulises Arias. Jake Ghio and James Kirby moved elsewhere while Matthew Calleja Cremona decided to hang his boots.
This summer, Marsaxlokk also entered the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round, losing 0-4 on aggregate to FC Pyunik.
Challenging for honours and securing a spot in European football will be the objective for Marsaxlokk.
| Fri 14-Aug-2026 | Birzebbuga St. Peter’s FC vs Floriana FC | 18:00 | Centenary Stadium |
| Fri 14-Aug-2026 | Balzan FC vs Marsaxlokk FC | 20:30 | Centenary Stadium |