Hibernians and Balzan cross swords as they reverse roles from last season’s final day.

In fact, in the 2017/2018 finale, Balzan met Hibernians at the Hibs Ground looking to win and hoping for a Valletta slip up against Gżira United to lift their first ever championship. But on the day, it was the Paolites who took the honours to hand the title to the Citizens.

Fast forward 12 months and this time it’s the Paolites who are battling City for the title with Balzan eyeing to leapfrog Ħamrun into fourth spot.

“We are entering this final day with a positive pressure on our shoulders because we know that we still have a chance to win the title even though we still have to depend on other results,” Hibs coach Stefano Sanderra told the Times of Malta.

“Our loss against Qormi showed a lack of maturity from our side because probably we were already looking at the ultimate prize. However, I feel that it was a learning curve for us as it taught us that we need to fight on the pitch for every inch in order to win the championship.”

Asked about a judgement of his first experience on the Maltese islands, Sanderra feels that this journey in Malta has enriched him both on and off the field.

“To be honest, I feel really comfortable at Hibernians because I always have the backing of the environment, in particular with the president with whom I have a close relationship,” he admitted.

At one point of the season, Balzan looked to be out from any type of contention if not just lying at mid-table.

However, when Jacques Scerri took over the club, Balzan looked revived especially in terms of results. They are now on the back of four positive results in a row which propelled them into fifth place and will hope they can achieve a better result than the Spartans to stay in the hunt for an Europa League spot.

“I have to credit the players for the work they put in and it is down to them that we are entering the final day of the season still with a possible shot at European football,” Scerri explained.

“Lot of people had already drawn us out of European contention, but our will to get back has helped us to keep our hopes alive.”

Long shot for Sliema

An interesting spectator of what Ħamrun and Balzan will achieve today are Sliema. The Blues are lying sixth on 42 points, with a remote chance of finishing their campaign in fourth.

Their advantage is that they will be facing an already-relegated Pieta Hotspurs team while the Spartans and Balzan have sterner tests.

Sliema’s only chance of playing in the Europa League would be to have Ħamrun lose forcing a decider for top-four – depends on Birkirkara’s journey in the domestic cup as well.

“Despite our late flops, we are still eyeing a place in Europe - we are annoyed we did not salvage at least a point against Balzan,” Sliema coach Stefano Maccoppi said.

“We are aware that our opponents are already relegated but we are sure that they will want to end the season on a high note and will make our lives difficult.

“The pressure is channeled on us because we still have objectives to fight for.”