The league table in First Division tells a story about these teams so far, with Lija Athletic leading Mqabba by 12 points. Match preview to follow:
Both teams have had enough rest since their last competitive action. Let's hope for an energetic game!
There's local pride at stake here, as these teams are practically neighbours. Expect lots of passion from both players and supporters.
Lija Athletic form and stats
16 points is a decent return from 7 First Division games here at Victor Tedesco Stadium for Lija Athletic, who have the most scored goals (34) in First Division,. The data says 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.
An away draw last time out for Lija Athletic, facing Pembroke Athleta in a game that ended 3-3. Heartbreak before that as Lija Athletic lost 2-3 at Qrendi's place.
A goal frenzy last time out for Lija Athletic, with a total of 6 goals in the match against Pembroke Athleta. Fun stuff to watch!
The Lija Athletic manager J. Galea has got the team scoring with 17 from 7 home games in the league. Defensively it’s touch-and-go for the home team as 11 goals have been conceded.
Mqabba form and stats
There's been little loot from Mqabba's travels as they have only collected 7 points from 7 away games in the First Division. Mqabba only have 2 wins to counter their 4 defeats and 1 draw. Three might be a magic number, but there's been little wizardry in Mqabba's last three away games as they have all been lost.
There were no winners in Mqabba's previous match, a First Division home game that ended 2-2 vs Pieta Hotspurs (placed 7th). Preceding that game, the 1-2 loss visiting Pembroke Athleta's place.
Mqabba have scored 7 goals on their travels this season, from 7 away games in the league. In the opposite end, Mqabba have conceded 11 goals in their away games.
Head 2 Head
The dueling parties have met before this season: Mqabba - Lija Athletic 1-2. As for the last ten games between these two teams, there's five Lija Athletic victories, three draws and two Mqabba wins. seven of these games ended with three goals or more, three matches with two goals or less.Lija Athletic missing players
Mqabba missing players
| Lija Athletic | Mqabba | ||||||
| Total | Home | vs | Statistics | Stat | vs | Away | Total |
| 14 | 7 | 3 | Played | P | 1 | 7 | 14 |
| 8 | 5 | 3 | Won | W | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | Drew | D | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | Lost | L | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 34 | 17 | 9 | Scored | S | 1 | 7 | 17 |
| 25 | 11 | 5 | Conceded | C | 2 | 11 | 24 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 93% | 86% | 100% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 57% | 79% |
| 93% | 86% | 100% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 100% | 43% | 64% |
| 57% | 57% | 67% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 0% | 14% | 21% |
| 50% | 43% | 67% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 14% | 14% |
| 86% | 86% | 100% | BTTS | BTTS | 100% | 43% | 64% |
| 7% | 0% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 0% | 14% | 7% |
| 7% | 14% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 0% | 43% | 29% |
| 4.5 | 3.5 | 5 | Corners For (avg) | C F | 4 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| 2.6 | 2 | 4 | Corners Against (avg) | C A | 6 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| 1.4 | 0.8 | 2 | Yellow Cards (avg) | Y C | 4 | 1.8 | 2.2 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | Red Cards | R C | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | 17 | 4 | Total Shots | T S | 1 | 20 | 45 |
| 24 | 12 | 4 | Shots on Target | S O | 1 | 12 | 18 |
| 92% | 83% | 100% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 100% | 50% | 56% |
- Lija Athletic has the most points (16) at home
- Lija Athletic has the most scored goals (17) at home
- Lija Athletic has the most scored goals (34)
- Lija Athletic have failed to keep a clean sheet in all their home matches.
- Lija Athletic have scored at least twice as many goals at home as Mqabba have scored away.
- Lija Athletic have won significantly less corners at home than away.
- Lija Athletic haven’t played a single 0-0 game.
- Mqabba has the fewest scored goals (7) away
- Mqabba haven’t played a single 0-0 game.
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Zejtun Corinthians | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 11 | 29 |
| 2 | Lija Athletic | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 26 |
| 3 | St. Andrews | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 25 |
| 4 | Pembroke Athleta | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 23 |
| 5 | Qrendi | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 23 |
| 6 | Naxxar Lions | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 22 |
| 7 | Pieta Hotspurs | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -4 | 19 |
| 8 | Swieqi | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 18 |
| 9 | Zebbug Rangers | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | -1 | 16 |
| 10 | Qormi | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | -4 | 16 |
| 11 | Mqabba | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -7 | 14 |
| 12 | St. George's | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 18 | -13 | 14 |
| 13 | Vittoriosa Stars | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -7 | 12 |
| 14 | Fgura United | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -12 | 12 |