National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Birkirkara or Hamrun Spartans that keep their silverware dream alive.
It should be mentioned that Hamrun Spartans play their home matches on artifical turf, so they have to adjust for this one as it's played on grass. Does it matter? Recent statistics for Hamrun Spartans on grass are 14 victories, 5 draws and 5 defeats from 24 games. In these matches they have a goal statistics scored/conceded: 32-23. You can compare this with overall results below.
These teams are located so close to each other that their supporters eat in the same restaurants, hang out at the same night clubs and give birth at the same hospitals. This means added importance to the game and a vibrant atmosphere.
Birkirkara and Hamrun Spartans should both be in good shape for this meeting, as there's been enough days for both of them to train and rest since their last matches.
Birkirkara form and stats
Birkirkara was eliminated in the quarter-finals last season in the Fa Trophy.23 points is a decent return from 10 Premier League games here at Ta'Qali National Stadium for Birkirkara. The data says 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
The home team returns to Ta'Qali National Stadium after drawing with Hamrun Spartans on their last time out; the game ended 0-0.
In the match before, 2-2 away to Balzan (after extra-time, 4-5 on penalties) (Fa Trophy).
Birkirkara are not conceding a lot of goals here at Ta'Qali National Stadium in the league, averaging less than one per game. The total is 5 from 10 matches.
Hamrun Spartans form and stats
Last season their Fa Trophy adventure ended in the quarter-finals.The away performances of Hamrun Spartans have been very solid so far with 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in the Premier League. The question is whether this happy travelling can continue.
382 minutes! That's how long the Hamrun Spartans goalkeeper Henry Bonello and his defense have shut out their league opponents.
Spartans delivered a 0-0 draw playing at home against Birkirkara in their previous fixture.
Earlier, the Fa Trophy victory away at Valletta.
The travelling fans enjoy Hamrun Spartans's attacking play in away games, having scored 16 goals in 10 league matches away. Spartans are defending well in their away games, having conceded only 7 times in 10 matches. For more goal statistics, check out the Statistics tab above.
Head 2 Head
Hamrun Spartans have pulled off a sequence of 4 consecutive games without losing (1-3-0) when playing Birkirkara.The games between these clubs sometimes lean towards being "violent", having seen 5 red cards from the last ten duels.
Top Goalscorers
  E. Sukisa 12 goals |  E. Cabrera 10 goals | A. da Paixão Alves 5 goals |
Birkirkara missing players
Hamrun Spartans missing players
| Birkirkara | Hamrun Spartans | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 12 | 8 | Won | W | 10 | 20 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Drew | D | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Lost | L | 2 | 2 | ||
| 43 | 24 | Scored | S | 21 | 42 | ||
| 21 | 9 | Conceded | C | 13 | 18 | ||
| 92% | 92% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 92% | ||
| 76% | 77% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 62% | 60% | ||
| 52% | 54% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 54% | 44% | ||
| 24% | 23% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 23% | 20% | ||
| 8% | 8% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 23% | 16% | ||
| 48% | 31% | BTTS | BTTS | 54% | 40% | ||
| 36% | 54% | Clean Sheets | C S | 46% | 60% | ||
| 24% | 23% | Failed to Score | F T | 8% | 8% | ||
| 5.8 | 5 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 6.8 | 5.6 | ||
| 3.3 | 2.5 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.6 | 4 | ||
| 2.6 | 2.4 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.6 | 1.6 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 1 | ||
| 9.5 | 9 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 11.2 | 11.3 | ||
| 4.2 | 4.2 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.8 | 4.9 | ||
| 46% | 52% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 33% | 33% | ||
| 7.5 | 7.5 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 7.2 | 6.5 | ||
| 2.6 | 2.5 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 3.2 | 2.6 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Hamrun Spartans | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 53 |
| 2 | Gzira United | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 37 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 26 | 42 |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 36 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 23 | 39 |
| 4 | Mosta | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 36 |
| 5 | Balzan | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 36 |
| 6 | Hibernians | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 36 |
| 7 | Gudja United | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 28 |
| 8 | Floriana | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 27 |
| 9 | Valletta | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 26 |
| 10 | Marsaxlokk | 20 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 25 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 6 | -6 | 20 |
| 11 | Sirens | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -11 | 19 |
| 12 | Zebbug Rangers | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | -18 | 14 |
| 13 | Santa Lucia | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 14 | 41 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 22 | -27 | 8 |
| 14 | Pieta Hotspurs | 20 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 54 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 19 | -41 | 5 |
