Hibernians out to depose Malta's Lion kings

Hibernians FC defender Clayton Failla told uefa.com his side could "not throw away this unique opportunity" as they go into the final day of the Maltese season with a two-point lead over Sunday's opponents, champions Valletta FC.

Final push
Few can remember a more exciting denoument to a Premier League campaign, with recent weeks seeing the momentum in the final stages of the championship play-offs switch from Hibernians to Valletta and then back again. Hibernians now know that they will be celebrating title success at the National Stadium on Sunday if they can avoid defeat against the Citizens.

Intriguing facet
The big game pits the most prolific attack in the Premier League against the meanest defence. Hibernians have scored 73 goals in 27 games while Valletta have conceded just 18 during the same number of fixtures, keeping 14 clean sheets to the Peacocks' eleven. Thus both sides find themselves having to play in their weaker suit: Valletta must score, Hibernians must avoid conceding.

Protective instinct
"We have to protect the two-point advantage we have from the first whistle," insisted Failla. "No one believed we could have come so far this season. We cannot throw away this unique opportunity. Our coach Mark Miller has said how proud he is of all of us. He also told us we are just 90 minutes away from the title and we should do everything we can to land it."

Pressure match
The Paola side may have 26-goal top scorer Terence Scerri available again for the big game. But while they have the wind in their sails after reclaiming first place with a 4-0 win against Birkirkara FC on Monday, Valletta – with 19 titles to Hibernians' nine – have more experience of dealing with pressure, though they will be without Cleaven Frendo, Stefan Giglio and maybe Luke Dimech.

'Moment of truth'
Captain Gilbert Agius, who has won six titles with the club, epitomised their cool determination, telling uefa.com: "We all know it is a very difficult match. Hibernians have been the revelation of this season. They have been leading the table since the beginning of the season, but we are all focused on our players and I expect us to deliver in the moment of truth on Sunday."