A nerve-wracking weekend beckons for Birkirkara and Hibernians.

After the two title contenders came through their last games unscathed, albeit in contrasting fashion, they head into the final day of the season level-pegging on 42 points.

On Saturday, Birkirkara underlined their title credentials with a 1-0 win over Valletta that shattered the latter’s hopes of a third successive crown.

Hibs’ response couldn’t have been more emphatic as they outclassed Mosta 6-0. If both Birkirkara and Hibs win next weekend, they will face off in a title decider on May 11.

On paper, the final hurdle awaiting Hibs is significantly steeper than that facing Birkirkara as the Paolites face the outgoing champions on Sunday while the Stripes will be up against Tarxien the day before.

Hibs stalwart Andrew Cohen insisted that their strong form in the last few weeks has reinforced the players’ belief.

“We’ve been working towards this aim (winning the title) since the start of the season but I felt that we stepped up our game when we beat Mosta (3-1) in the first round of the Championship Pool,” Cohen said.

“We are on a good scoring run with nine goals in the last two games and different players have been finding the net.

“I believe that we can win the title. It’s realistic to say that our last fixture is very difficult because we’re going to play Valletta.

“Birkirkara meet Tarxien but the latter have shown that they can be a hard nut to crack.

“Valletta are passing through a difficult moment but they know how to play well.

“Our morale is high as we’ve hit a very good patch... if we want to win the championship, we must win this game.

“Our last win (4-2) over Valletta has lifted our optimism. We had not beaten them in the first and second round but we managed to gain that elusive win in our last meeting and we beat Valletta convincingly.”

Cohen has been playing top-flight football for more than a decade but has never quite experienced a season like this with three teams in the title mix in the final two weeks.

“In my career, I don’t recall ever being involved in a season where, before the final two games, three teams were still challenging for the title,” Cohen said.

“I think the smaller teams in Maltese football have raised their level and they can take points off bigger sides. On the other hand, I also feel that the standards of the leading teams may have dropped slightly.”

The Malta playmaker acknowledged that the introduction of Brazilian striker Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’ in the Championship Pool has significantly boosted Hibs’ firepower.

“If Tarabai was with us from the start of the season, I believe that we’d have already wrapped up the championship,” Cohen said.

Hibs have been rejuvenated by Tarabai’s return but their decision to allow Malta wing-back Edward Herrera to join Birkirkara last summer may return to haunt them.

It may have taken Herrera a while to find his feet with the Stripes but the 26-year-old has been central to Birkirkara’s title challenge.

His excellent form was there for all to see on Saturday as Herrera tormented Valletta with his powerful running on the right wing.

“We are upbeat about our title chances,” Herrera told Times of Malta. “It’s still wide open but I hope that we don’t spoil everything by dropping points in our last match against Tarxien. If it goes to a decider, then so be it, but let’s make sure that we don’t falter against Tarxien like we did against Mosta.

“We must focus on our match.”

Birkirkara’s failure to overcome Mosta after their painful draw with Hibs prompted doubts about their ability to cope with the pressure of a tense title run-in but Saturday’s win over Valletta allayed such fears.

“It was a very important win,” Herrera said. “We answered those critics who said that we we were not prepared to rise to the occasion.

“Psychologically, beating a team of Valletta’s calibre bolstered our morale.”

Herrera’s decision to leave Hibs for Birkirkara had caused some surprise in the close season as he was a first-choice player at his former club but he felt that the time was right to seek a new challenge.

“I needed a change, a new challenge,” Herrera observed. “I knew that I was joining a serious club who regularly compete for the major honours.

“That is why my aim was to join Birkirkara. Besides, I already knew most of their players. There is unity in the Birkirkara camp... we enjoy spending time together and this is very important because it’s not only about football, it’s like being part of a family.”

Herrera, now also a regular with the national team, looks to have taken his game to a new level with Birkirkara. He attributes his consistent form to Paul Zammit’s bold decision to switch to 3-5-2.

“The 3-5-2 formation suits me as the coach has given me a free role on the flank and I’m enjoying more space to attack,” Herrera said.

“My team-mates are also playing a key role. Without their support, I wouldn’t be able to play well as this is a team effort.

“I feel that I’m at the peak of my form. I’m 26 now and if I continue to play in the Maltese league, my level will stay the same as the standard of our football is what it is.

“It’s hard to improve unless you move to a better league... who knows?

“I notice the difference when I play for the national team. If we were to play an international game every week, I’d certainly improve my tempo and game awareness.

“I’ve been involved in all of Malta’s World Cup qualifiers so far bar the opener against Armenia and I feel I’ve progressed consistently in the last few months.”

Trophy presentation

The MFA announced that, in the event that Hibs win the title after their game against Valletta on Sunday, they will be presented with the league trophy at the end of the match.

If Birkirkara are declared champions on Sunday, the MFA have reached agreement with the club for the presentation ceremony to be held during an activity on the same evening.

Final fixtures

Thursday: (Tedesco Stadium)
19.30 - Balzan vs Rabat.

Friday: (Hibs Stadium)
18.00 - Floriana vs Qormi;
20.00 - Sliema vs Mosta.

Saturday: (National Stadium)
15.00 - Ħamrun vs Melita;
17.00 - Birkirkara vs Tarxien.

Sunday: (National Stadium)
17.00 - Valletta vs Hibernians.

Saturday, May 11: (National Stadium)
17.00 - league decider (if needed).

Division One (Tedesco Stadium)
League decider – Saturday
17.00 - Vittoriosa vs Naxxar

BOV Premier League statistics

Balzan FC – Elton 14 (4 pens); Pedrinho 8 (1 pen); N’Dekre 5, Dar-manin 5; Conceicao 3, Caruana 3; Licari 2, Aboulezz 2; Mendy, Deanov, Pace, Forace, Camilleri, Agius.
Red cards: Conceicao (vs Ħamrun, vs Valletta), Licari (vs Hibs), Pace (vs Sliema), Forace (vs Mosta), Camilleri (vs Rabat), Mendy (vs Hibs).

Birkirkara – Jhonnattann 14 (1 pen); Mifsud Triganza 10; Haruna 8 (2 pens); Vukanac 6; R. Muscat 4, Joselito 4; Herrera 3, Camenzuli 3; Sciberras 2, Fenech 2; Z. Muscat, Scicluna, Pereira, Zerafa.
Own goal: Mintoff (vs Sliema).
Red cards: Scicluna (vs Balzan), Fenech (vs Ħamrun,vs Hibs), Herrera (vs Qormi), Haruna (vs Sliema), Men-doza (vs Hibs).

Floriana – Coronado 13; Darmanin 8 (now Balzan); Wasiu 4, Verma 4; Cilia 3, Pisani 3; Roberts 2, Casha 2; Alhinho, Brown, Jeffers, Spiteri, Bugeja, Nwoko, C. Borg, J. Borg.
Red cards: Brown (vs Rabat), K. Farrugia (vs Mosta, vs Rabat), Alhinho (vs Hibs), Pisani (vs Rabat).

Ħamrun – Grima 7 (3 pens), Vella 6; Lumbilla 3, Calabretta 3, Camilleri 3 (1 pen), Fenech 3; Lattes 2, Spiteri 2; Scerri, Bozhov, Zerafa, Yoshev, Borg, Favero.
Own goal: Gribbon (vs Melita).
Red cards: Fenech (vs Floriana, vs Balzan, vs Floriana), Cassar (vs Tar-xien), Vitanov (vs Sliema), Cassar (vs Qormi), Borg (vs Qormi).

Hibernians – Failla 12 (4 pens), Lima 10 (2 pens); Cohen 8; Farrugia 7; Tarabai 6; Pulis 3, Soares 3, Ribeiro 3, Dias 3; Kristensen 2; Pisani, Levnaic, Nwoba, Camilleri, Bezzina, Kardeck, Pearson.
Own goals: Guga (vs Ħamrun Spartans), Giglio (vs Balzan), Van-delannoite (vs Valletta).
Red cards: Muscat (vs Balzan, vs Valletta), Dias (vs Balzan, vs Birkirkara), Pulis (vs Tarxien, vs Mosta), Nwoko (vs Melita), Soares (vs Valletta, vs Birkirkara).

Melita – Galea 6; Armario Negrin 5 (now Rabat), L. Micallef 5; Cabanillas 2, Tufegdzic 2; Vukanic (pen), Sammut, Sierra Camacho, Borg Olivier, Attard.
Own goal: Pace (vs Balzan).
Red cards: Vukanic (vs Valletta), Sierra Camacho (vs Tarxien, vs Qormi), Valen-zia (vs Valletta), Sammut (vs Balzan), Caruana Scicluna (vs Mosta), Vella Petroni (vs Qormi), Borg (vs Qormi).

Mosta – Mitev 12 (1 pen); Obiefule 11 (1 pen); Bogdanovic 5 (1 pen); Apap 3; Aboulezz 2, Zongo 2 (1 pen), Campagnoli 2; Bajada, Chiemeka, Maia Dos Santos, Mbonu, Micallef, Vignaroli.
Own goal: Bello-Osagie (vs Qormi).
Red cards: Grech (vs Sliema), Aboulezz (vs Floriana), Dimech (vs Balzan), Mitev (vs Birkirkara).

Qormi – Effiong 10 (2 pens), Avila Perez 10 (3 pens); Bello-Osagie (now Valletta) 8; Zarate 6; Chetcuti 5; Pisani 4, Thackray 4 (1 pen); Spiteri 3, Siritto 3, Grech 3; Sciberras, Cassar, Bondin. Own goals: Tufegdzic (vs Melita), B. Bondin (vs Balzan).
Red cards: Bondin (vs Rabat), Sciberras (vs Floriana).

Rabat – Armario Negrin 13 (5 pens); Fuster 4, Licari 4; Astrauskas 2, Felice 2 (1 pen), Azzopardi 2, Pendas 2; Smeir, Carapic, Borg, Cauchi.
Red cards: Borg (vs Floriana), Brincat (vs Sliema), Felice (vs Floriana), Fuster (vs Melita).

Sliema – Woods 11 (3 pens); Muchardi 6; Ohawuchi 5; Faccini 4, Ciantar 4; Ruggiero 3; A. Muscat 2; El Ghaouti, Barbetti, Timotic, Gatt Baldacchino, Laudisi, Mifsud, Marti-nelli, Zammit, Bajada.
Red cards: Scerri (vs Floriana), Bonello (vs Floriana), Martinelli (vs Hibs), Zammit (vs Birkirkara).

Tarxien – Bueno 20 (2 pens); Danilo 8, Andrezinho 8; Evaldo 5; Tanti 3; Anonam 2, Leandro 2; Pulo, Bonnici, Bajada, Tulio, Mamo.
Red cards: Danilo (vs Sliema), Evaldo (vs Birkirkara), Andrezinho (vs Hibs), Caruana (vs Sliema).

Valletta – Mifsud 18 (2 pens); Denni 9; Barbosa 8 (4 pens); Toure 6 (1 pen); Gabriel 5, Fenech 5; Caruana 3; Leandro 2, Briffa 2, Zammit 2 (1 pen), Bello-Osagie 2; Ricardo, Borg, Ogun-nuppe, Vandelannoite, Dimech, Falzon.
Own goal: Tufegdzic (vs Melita).
Red card: Vandelannoite (vs Hibs).

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	31	18	9	4	61	22	42
Hibernians	31	20	4	7	70	33	42
Valletta	31	17	8	6	69	27	36
Sliema	31	15	6	10	44	31	33
Tarxien	31	14	6	11	53	50	29
Mosta	31	11	2	18	44	68	18
Floriana	31	13	10	8	47	38	37
Qormi	31	15	4	12	61	49	34
Balzan	31	9	9	13	48	56	23
Rabat Ajax	31	5	9	17	33	60	19
Ħamrun	31	6	5	20	36	83	15
Melita	31	3	8	20	26	75	10