The three local clubs taking part in the UEFA Europa League, Hibernians, Birkirkara and Floriana, will be in action this evening as they face more seasoned campaigners in what are considered difficult encounters for the local sides.
Hibernians and Floriana will be playing today’s first legs away from home with the home legs scheduled in Malta for next week. Birkirkara are scheduled to play at the Hibernians Stadium today with the second leg in Macedonia next week.
Hibernians will be facing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s FK Sarajevo while Floriana are in Sweden to play against Elfsborg, current leaders of the Swedish top division.
Hibernians are encouraged by the Euro Cup win last week having collected three straight wins against Birkirkara, Valletta and Floriana.
Coach Michael Woods is confident his side will be able to provide some strong opposition to the Croatians who are expected to go on the offensive right from the start.
In fact, the Paolites are aware that Sarajevo may prove to be a different kettle of fish than local opposition.
The Greens had a very disappointing start to the new season having suffered three defeats in the Euro Cup. The side is passing through a very difficult moment, not only on the field, but also administration wise.
It is obvious that they will be concentrating almost totally on defence to try and emerge from the field with a respectable scoreline.
Birkirkara also face strong opponents in the form of Metalurg of Skopje, the Macedonian capital.
The Stripes also had a disappointing start to the new season, winning just one match against Floriana and losing heavily to Hibernians and Valletta in the Euro Cup.
Coach Paul Zammit is expected to be able to include his typical formation for this evening’s clash at the Hibernians Stadium. But he is also expected to adopt a cautious approach in the knowledge that the team’s opponents have made a lot of progress in recent seasons.
Free admission
The Stripes have announced that admission for this evening’s match is free of charge. It is probably the first time that a local Club is taking such an initiative. It said yesterday is was doing it to give the opportunity to everyone to enjoy a European level match in a live atmosphere.
In a statement, the club also appealed to everybody to show responsible behaviour. The club will be deploying a number of stewards to ensure that the supporters can enjoy the match in a safe environment.
It said in the statement that there will be zero tolerance for misbehaviour.
Last season, Birkirkara were fined €15,000 by UEFA for alleged racial booing during last year’s home match in the Europa League.