Saturday’s showdown between Birkirkara and Valletta is an enticing collision between the two heavyweights of Maltese football. Kevin Azzopardi outlines some key areas that could decide the title clash.

Work ethic

• Paul Zammit has essentially kept faith with the same team that won the league last season. Continuity is the name of the game for the shrewd Birkirkara coach and the Stripes are reaping the benefits of his strategy.

The players know each other inside out and this has clearly improved their teamwork and cohesion. These qualities are backed by a great work ethic which makes Birkirkara arguably the most compact team in the Premier League.

They look to have an edge over Valletta in terms of team organisation and spirit.

Valletta’s squad is replete with gifted and experienced players but the constant chopping and changing is testament to the difficulties that haunted Mark Miller before Andre Paus took up the challenge of trying to find the most balanced formation.

The arrival of five new foreigners in January intensified the already strong competition for places but Paus will have been heartened by the team’s improved displays in the last three games.

Irakli Maisuradze has brought some much-needed dynamism in midfield while the return of Steve Borg has been a great boost as the robust defender can play anywhere across City’s back line.

Valletta must be prepared to run their socks off when chasing possession to boost their chances of beating Birkirkara.

Attacking flair

• In Shola Shodiya Haruna and Jhonnattann, all speed and agility, Birkirkara have a formidable forward line. Haruna, with 14 league goals to his name, has been arguably the best foreigner this season, physically strong, fast and a powerful shooter.

Jhonnattann is different. He’s more agile, using his light frame to glide past opponents besides being a clinical finisher with the Brazilian now sharing top spot with Hibs striker Luis Edison in the scorers’ list with 21 goals.

Birkirkara can also unleash Frank Temile who, despite fizzling out after a terrific start to the season, has not lost his knack to run at defenders and create a chance out of nothing.

Valletta lack a striker in Haruna’s mould but they probably have more flair than Birkirkara in attack.

Paus has an abundance of attacking riches with Brazilian Alan Da Silva Souza quickly establishing himself as a regular player after joining Valletta in January.

Da Silva Souza is blessed with great technique and is at his most effective when cutting in from the wing.

He is sure to start the crunch clash at the National Stadium.

Denni is the wizard-type of player, quick off the mark and dazzling with the ball at his feet. He is also their chief goal-getter, hitting three in the last two games to take his tally to 18.

Abdelkarim Nafti is not as quick as Denni but he is very skilful and has a great shot.

Young Luke Montebello is coming through well while Lateef Elford-Alliyu, whose spell with Valletta has been disrupted by injuries, is likely to be thrown into the fray if the Citizens are chasing the game, provided he makes the squad.

Midfield control

• Birkirkara tend to crowd the central areas and their midfielders not only concede little space to their opponents but also embark on darting runs.

In past meetings with Valletta, Zammit deployed Sciberras as an attacking midfielder while Rowen Muscat and Paul Fenech are also dangerous going forward.

Valletta also possess a host of strong midfielders with Maisuradze cementing his status as the team’s enforcer.

Strong and powerful in the air, the Georgian provides an effective shield to the back four.

Edmond Agius is the other City player that brings steel and graft to midfield but like Hamza Barry, he has been on the fringes of the first team in recent matches.

Paus has restored Roderick Briffa to his favoured midfield role in the last few games and he looks set to partner Maisuradze in the centre.

Briffa offers creativity and vision but Valletta would need the likes of Ryan Fenech and Denni to drop back and press in midfield.

The Citizens, for whom only a win will do on Saturday, were overrun in the middle during a one-sided first half in their last clash with Birkirkara and their efforts to gain ground were undone by a series of bad passes.

A repeat of that disjointed showing would shatter their title hopes with the battle for midfield control sure to have a massive impact on the outcome of the game.

Pressure point

The enormity of the occasion inevitably heightens the pressure on the players and their ability to cope with the tension will affect their performance.

Not so long ago, Valletta were spoken of as the team most adept at handling the pressure as they have several experienced players in their ranks but Birkirkara are hardly novices themselves.

Their players will neither be intimidated by Valletta’s aura nor by the importance of the occasion because they have seen-it and done-it experience after coming from a goal down to beat Hibernians 3-1 in last season’s title decider.

And the way Birkirkara have handled the pressure as defending champions has removed any doubts about their mental strength.

Valletta have had their ups and downs but a lesser team would probably have wilted under the weight of expectation.

The experience of their players has helped Valletta overcome the scepticism to stay in the title hunt this season.

Both teams will need their big players to perform and lead.

Birkirkara can count on some strong characters in Nikola Vuka-nac, Gareth Sciberras and Paul Fenech while Luke Dimech, Ryan Fenech, Steve Borg and goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili can be relied upon to rally their City team-mates.

Tactical duel

Make no mistake, coaches Paul Zammit and Andre Paus will ponder long and hard about their selections and gameplan as they look to outwit each other tactically in the decider.

It is not surprising that both coaches are keeping their cards close to their chest, given the significance of the game. They may have a surprise up their sleeve but both will recognise the inherent dangers if they elect to tinker extensively.

Zammit is known to lay great emphasis on tactical work, making sure that his players are familiar with the demands of their roles, especially in terms of positioning, while also honing their ability to adjust to different tactics during the game.

While it could well be said that Zammit has been harnessing the tactical awareness of his most important elements since 2008, the year he started his first spell with Birkirkara, not the same can be said of Paus.

The Dutchman has only been in charge for less than three months but in this short period, he looks to have improved Valletta’s tactical discipline.

As Birkirkara have stuck with 3-4-1-2 for much of this season, Zammit will not likely change his team’s tried-and-tested strategy for their biggest game of the season. Although a draw would be enough for Birkirkara to retain the title, Zammit is unlikely to devise a defensive strategy as that would be too risky.

It is in midfield where Zammit may change a few things. Captain Gareth Sciberras came on as a substitute in the 4-1 defeat of Hibs after recovering from injury but Zammit is unlikely to leave his experienced leader on the bench on Saturday.

Paul Fenech has been an immovable figure in midfield while Rowen Muscat and Ryan Scicluna have also done well in recent games.

Although Zammit likes to have three central defenders and two fast wing-backs in Joseph Zerafa and Edward Herrera, they usually have four players at the back as, when one of the wing-backs pushes forward, the other stays behind.

And most of the time the danger emanates from the right wing where Herrera’s marauding runs and stamina add to the attacking arsenal of this Birkirkara team whose swift transition from defence to attack has proved a devastating weapon in the last two seasons.

Valletta’s hopes of winning the game could well hinge on their ability to curb the overlaps of Herrera who signalled his fine form last weekend when finishing off a trademark incursion with a thunderous drive for Birkirkara’s third goal in the 4-1 win over Hibernians.

Paus tried to limit Herrera’s threat by deploying Ryan Fenech in front of Oscar Reyes Sanchez on the left in the 0-0 draw with Birkirkara but the move backfired with the Spanish defender betraying signs of uneasiness throughout the game.

Shawn Bajada has made the left-back role his own for much of the past months but, although the Malta international is very comfortable with the ball, his lack of pace may be exposed by Herrera’s speed.

With Ian Azzopardi short of match sharpness after a long lay-off, Paus, who has favoured a 4-2-3-1 approach, is expected to show faith in Bajada at left-back but with the added protection of a fast player who can track back.

Supporters’ backing

This title skirmish is sure to attract the biggest crowd of the season.

Both teams will have thousands of fans behind them and the atmosphere will surely be electric.

There will be a lot of colour, noise and, undesirably, a barrage of insults but the supporters can play a key role.

They can truly be the 12th man but their support needs to transmit courage and positivity to the players, especially when their team are going through a difficult patch.

Negative chants and tension in the stands will only serve to alienate the players.