Malta’s U-21 team will meet a selection from Italy's Serie B in a friendly match at the Hibs Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The Malta FA acted swiftly to arrange the warm-up match following negotiations with the FIGC, the Italian football federation.

The Italian squad will be made up of players, born in 1990 and 1991, who are on the books of Serie B clubs.

The Maltese team, led by coach Ray Farrugia and his assistant Ronald Vella, will be a mixture of youngsters who are expected to represent the country in the next UEFA U-21 qualifying campaign and established elements who featured regularly in the last competition.

Malta U-21 wrapped up their commitments in Group 2 of the 2013 Euro Championship qualifying trek with a 5-1 defeat in Ukraine last month. Farrugia's team finished with five points from 10 games.

Tuesday's match is a good opportunity for the newcomers in Farrugia's squad to stake an early claim for a place in the U-21 team for the next qualifiers. These include Floriana goalkeeper Juergen Borg, Ħamrun Spartans midfielder Daniel Zerafa and Johann Bezzina, of Hibs.

Farrugia has already had the chance to run the rule over the U-19 players as he travelled to Poland to watch the Malta team play during the UEFA Group 3 tournament.

Hibs’ Ayrton Azzopardi, who made his senior debut for Malta as a late substitute in the 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to the Czech Republic, has rejoined the U-21 squad ahead of Tuesday's match.

Ħamrun forward Terence Vella, who was in Pietro Ghedin's squad for Friday's qualifier in Plzen, is expected to feature for the Malta U-21 team on Tuesday alongside Birkirkara's Rowen Muscat.

Midfielders Mark Scerri and Ryan Scicluna, who play for Sliema and Birkirkara respectively, and Hibs striker Jean Paul Farrugia are struggling with injuries.