2023/24 BOV Premier League kicks off on Friday

BOV Premier League Match Day 1 preview

Marsaxlokk vs Naxxar Lions (15.09.23, Centenary Stadium, 19h)
The 2023/24 BOV Premier League is kicking off Friday night with a match between last season’s FA Trophy finalists Marsaxlokk and newcomers Naxxar Lions, who finished as runners-up of the Challenge League last season.
The new club of coach Winston Muscat, who was last season with Sirens, have been quite active on the transfer market with signings in every department. Veteran goalkeeper Justin Haber (42) came from Hibernians and is all set for his 26^th consecutive professional season, while other local signings include the ones of Daniel Zerafa, Nikolai Muscat, Duane Bonnici, Jake Ghio and former Sirens duo Gary Camilleri and Jacob Walker. Several foreigners were signed, including defensive midfielder Armah Vaikainah, also ex-Sirens, who was on international duty this week with his country Liberia, playing a Friendly with Ghana. Up front they snapped up the signature of Brazilian Yuri de Messias, who is eager to add to his 77 MPL goals tally. Their pre-season campaign was sealed by winning the annual Gammari Muscat Tournament, organised by Mosta FC.
With four teams going down at the end of the season, every point counts for promoted Naxxar Lions, who also have strengthened their team with a number of new entries. Daren Falzon returned from Tarxien Rainbows, a player who needs no introduction in Naxxar and surroundings. Two Under-21 internationals joined the Lions as well this summer, which are goalkeeper Matthias Debono and left flank defender Nikolai Micallef. Several Brazilians were signed in defence, midfield, and attack, most of them new to Malta. They are joining fellow country-man Edson Farias, who will be starting his sixth consecutive season with the Lions, his first in the Premier. The team of George Vella, who will be making his debut as a coach in the Premier League, also welcomed impressive Japanese winger Takuma Yamaguchi to the squad, on the books of Pieta’ last season.
It will be only the 20^th time in history both teams meet in an official senior match. They met last during season 2021/22 in the Challenge League, with Marsaxlokk winning both matches. (3-0, 3-1).  The last time Naxxar beat the Southseasiders was a 1-0 NCL victory on 22 November 2020, thanks to a goal scored by Joel Ellul.

Hamrun Spartans vs Balzan (16.09.23, National Stadium, 18h)
Champions Hamrun Spartans will kick off their campaign on Saturday evening with a tricky Balzan contest, two teams active in the European Cup competitions last month. It will be the baptism of fire of Italian Spartans coach Luciano Zauri in the Maltese Premier League, who hope to continue their impressive run in the MPL of last season. The last club who defeated the Spartans was Zebbug Rangers on 27 November 2022 (4-2), which means Hamrun is on a fifteen consecutive match unbeaten run (W13, D2). Zauri expects to give debuts to at least six of their seven new foreign players who were active in the Champions League and Conference League qualifying phase.
So both clubs paraded their summer signings already in the UEFA competitions and will have little surprises towards each other in expectation levels. However, since being eliminated in Europe, Oliver Spiteri’s Balzan signed three new foreigners which are Serbian striker Aleksandar Katanic, Awosanja Dimenji from Nigeria and another winger, Brazilian Leonardo (ex-Partizan Belgrade), all players who will add fire to the Balzan forward line. The last two have to make up for the loss of Angel Torres, who joined Central Coast Mariners in the A-League.
While Hamrun victories over Balzan were recorded far and in-between (five from 24 previous Premier League encounters), Balzan’s last victory over the Spartans dates back from two years ago, to be precise a 1-0 win on 19 September 2021. Looking at the last ten competitive encounters, this was the only victory of Balzan over Hamrun (W1, D5, L4). Therefore, this will be an interesting test for both teams, who aim high this season and are both to be expected to be amongst the front runners.


Gzira United vs Hibernians (16.09.23, National Stadium, 20h15)
The second match Saturday night at the National Stadium will be between Gzira and Hibernians, another interesting opener for both teams. While coach Darren Abdilla rose once more to the occasion with the Maroons in Europe, Hibernians had to do without European football, a rarity for the Paolites in the last three decades.
Gzira have lost many leading players this summer, most notably the forward line with Maxuell Maia (Birkirkara) and Jefferson (Indonesia), while Nikolai Muscat joined Marsaxlokk and Steve Pisani Santa Lucia. However, coach Abdilla re-shaped is formation in no-time, with the replacements showing their worth in Europe, while players like Zachary Scerri and youngsters Andrew and Brooklyn Borg carried the team to unexpected heights. Therefore, although the team looks to have lost a lot of quality on paper, football is played on the pitch and so far, Gzira have proven their critics wrong.
Hibernians lost Dunstan Vella to Floriana and Jake Grech to Balzan but kept faith to a few other Maltese stalwarts (Shaw, Degabiele, Kristensen, Apap), while Ayron Attard returned from Marsaxlokk and Johan Bezzina re-joined the Peacocks after more than four years, two welcome acquisitions. The team of coach Branko Nisevic (ex-Hamrun) invested heavily in their forward line by bringing in no less then five new foreign attackers, with perhaps Brazilian Alex Bruno as most impressive summer recruit. Centre back Eriks Santos also looks to be a massive signing for Hibernians, who look to challenge for the title and should be included in the short list of teams who could possibly cause an upset this season towards Hamrun Spartans.
The last three mutual Premier Division encounters were all won by Gzira (2-0, 2-1, 2-1), but looking at all the 36 previous competitive encounters since 1964, Hibernians had the upper-hand with 23 victories over Gzira, with the Maroons recording ten.

Santa Lucia vs Floriana (17.09.23, Tony Bezzina Stadium, 18h)
On Sunday, Santa Lucia and Floriana lock horns in their opening match of the season, an interesting clash looking at the investments both clubs did this summer.
The Lucians have a new technical team led by Alessandro Zinnari, who we mainly know from his technical coordinating and scouting qualities at the MFA youth system for the past years. It is therefore not a surprise that Santa Lucia acquired some young players in loan deals, most notably Sven Xerri (Hamrun), Adam Bradshaw (Balzan) and towering forward Jed Valletta from Birkirkara. After starting the season with Balzan, Portuguese defender Evandro Gomes is now a Santa Lucia player, who acquired some interesting Brazilian players apart from Steve Pisani from Gzira. Their pre-season results were impressive, but now it is time for the real work.
With former Juventus and Italy international Mauro Camoranesi at the helm, assisted by Brian Said, expectations are high at the Floriana camp, who have plenty of reason to be optimistic. The Greens kept faith with most of their players of last season, while Dunstan Vella joined from Hibernians and Kyrian Nwoko returned from a loan period with Sta Lucia. It will be interesting as well to watch how the new foreign players will settle, with Brazilian centre-forward Mateus joining from Balzan, while defenders Maksim Volodko and Alexandros Kouro, from Belarus and Greece respectively, gives Camoranesi more options in defence.
It will be only the tenth competitive senior match between the two, with seven of the previous nine mutual games being encounters in the MPL. Floriana won four of the previous nine, Santa Lucia three and there were two draws. Last season, Floriana won both their Premier league matches against the Lucians (1-0, 2-0), but the Yellows surprised Floriana in the 1^st round of the FA Trophy (1-0).

Birkirkara vs Sliema Wanderers (17.09.23, National Stadium, 18h)
Sliema Wanderers make a welcome return to the Premier League on Sunday, being drawn into a tough opener with Birkirkara, perhaps the revelation side of last season by winning the FA Trophy. The Stripes’ early exit in the UEFA Europa Conference League against the modest opposition of Maribor was hard to fathom, as the side certainly looked to have the quality to progress further. That is water under the bridge now and lessons learned, with coach Giovanni Tedesco looking forward to another season, his eleventh in Malta. The majority of last season’s players remained with Birkirkara, who already paraded most of their new acquisitions in the Conference League qualifiers. Jovan Pajovic and Enmy Manuel Pena Beltre looked solid in the back, while Maxuell Maia is an experienced  striker to knock in the goals, seeking a fruitful partnership with Alex Satariano up front, another new recruit.
Sliema kept faith to their squad of last season, who dominated the Challenge League, including coach Paul Zammit, who can overtake Mark Miller as most experienced MPL coach at the end of this year. The Blues added seven new foreigners to their squad, two of these which have Maltese football experience as attackers Vito Plut and Samuel Gomes came over from Gudja United. The squad looks decent enough to avoid relegation but with four teams going down at the end of the ride, Sliema need to welcome every single point this season to reach their goals.
Historically seen, with 183 previous editions, the match is a real mammoth encounter and is mentioned in the top 10 of most played encounters in Malta. Sliema won 84 of the previous 183, Birkirkara 64 while 35 ended in a draw. Two of the last three encounters ended in a draw.

Valletta vs Sirens (17.09.23, Tony Bezzina Stadium, 20h)
The return of Jhonnattan Benites from the Saudi Pro League to Valletta can be seen as the Citizen’s major summer signing, a massive boost for the aspirations of the fallen giants. Their season opener is against Sirens on Sunday evening and the Lilywhites are roaring to go, trying to make it, at least, a better season then the disappointing 2022/23 campaign. They wisely kept faith with young coach Thane Micallef and apart from Jhonattan, made a number of quality signings, including goalkeeper Jake Galea from Etzella Ettelbruck (Luxembourg), Santiago Ferraris from Marsaxlokk, Colombian centre back Juan Bolanos from Gudja United and fellow defender Victor Luiz, who had two good seasons with Santa Lucia before returning to his native country Brazil last season. With the experience of Rowen Muscat, the flair of Brandon Paiber and the goals of Federico Falcone up front, the Citizens look to be a more balanced outfit.
Sirens lost coach Winston Muscat to Marsaxlokk which opened the gate for the return of another experienced Maltese coach, Steve D’Amato, who already had a spell with the St Paul’s Bay based side in 2020. The 45-year-old mentor, who’s game against Valleta will be his 200^th in the Maltese Premier League, had to build a complete new team during the summer months, as the majority of the team left for pastures new. In fact, from last season’s squad, only goalkeeper Andrea Cassar stayed, as well as Alex Cini and Degran Jackson. The signing of eight players of Ghanese Premier League winners Madeama SC attracted a lot of media interest, a move which however certainly boosted the options for D’Amato in his team.
It will be the tenth official match between the two at senior level, with Sirens only beating the Lilywhites once, a 2-1 victory on 6 February 2022. Valletta won four and another four ended in a draw.

Mosta vs Gudja United (17.09.23, National Stadium, 20h15)
Match Day 1 comes to a close on Sunday night with a match between the Blues of Mosta and Gudja United, which was also the opening fixture for both sides last season. While Mosta seek to continue where they left last season, Gudja had to rebuild their squad as a few established players left the team.
As usual, Mosta managed to secure the services of a number of interesting West African talents. The core of the squad of last season has been kept the same, although four influential players left. Michael Okoh, the impressive Nigerian powerhouse, joined Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic on loan, while Roderick Briffa left to Challenge league team Pieta’, Tyrone Farrugia returned to his first love Msida and goalkeeper Ini Etim Akpan joined Sirens. Former Malta international Jean-Paul Farrugia joined the Blues and will add some power in attack, while young wing back Sacha Cortis returned to Malta after an extensive period in Spain, Switzerland, and England. Mosta kept faith in their coaching tandem Mario Muscat and Joe Grech.
New coach Jesmond Zammit can prepare himself for a huge challenge this season with Gudja United, as the team only retained a few players from their 2022/23 Premier League campaign. There is plenty of experience on midfield with Matias Muchardi, Walter Serrano, Arthur James and John Mintoff, while new foreign players were signed from Italy, Colombia and Brazil. Shaisen Attard has decided to extend his loan period with Gudja from Hamrun for another season, hoping to get some starts, while Gabriel Mensah re-joined Gudja from Hibernians in a move which looks to be the right one for the nippy Ghanese forward. Both Neil Tabone and Karl Micallef will add some experience in defence, but the omission of Juan Bolanos (to Valletta) this season might be a key factor for the Blues this season, who clearly pinned their hopes on the qualities of the new foreign players.
Last season, Gudja beat Mosta twice with the score 2-1, a result which would be certainly most welcome for the Gudjans. On 20 October 1963, both teams met for the first time in an official senior competitive encounter, a 3^rd Division match won by Mosta by the odd goal in five. The previous 28 encounters in history are fairly balanced, with Mosta winning 14, Gudja ten and four draws.