Gzira and Hibernians face each other today at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 2:00pm, in the Closing Round of the YoHealth Malta Premier.
Gzira finished the opening round with 22 points after six wins, four draws and six defeats, placing them eighth. Their form improved slightly in the closing round where they collected 14 points from four wins, two draws and three losses. The team is currently in decent form, having scored in their last three matches and remaining unbeaten in their last two.
Hibernians ended the opening round with 23 points from six wins, five draws and five defeats, finishing first in the Bottom Six group. However, their recent form has been weaker. In the closing round they collected 11 points with three wins, two draws and four losses. The Paolites are also without a win in their last five matches and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six games.
This will be the 40th Premier League meeting between the two clubs since World War II. Earlier this season, Hibernians won both league encounters, beating Gzira 5-3 and 4-1. However, Gzira defeated Hibernians 3-2 in the FA Trophy. In the last five league meetings, Hibernians have won four times while Gzira have won once. The last league draw between the two teams dates back to September 2016.
In terms of goals, Gzira have scored 33 league goals this season. Their top scorer is Andre Carlos Penha Da Costa with eight goals, followed by Johan Josue Bonilla Calderon with six and Maxuell Maia with five. Hibernians have scored 39 league goals, with Lucas Villela, who left the club in January leading the scoring charts with eleven goals. Cleiton Padilha has scored eight goals, while Miullen Carvalho has five, although he will miss this match due to suspension.
The match will also mark the first coaching encounter between Gzira’s Darren Abdilla and Hibernians’ new coach Andrei Agius. Abdilla has managed Gzira in 171 Premier League matches, winning 85 and averaging 1.72 points per match.
The referee for the match is Alex Johnson, who has officiated 14 Premier League games this season. His matches average 2.62 goals and around 5.23 yellow cards per game.
