West Ham will take on Maltese Premier League side Birkirkara FC in their Europa League Second Qualifying Round in a couple of days time. James McAndrew has the full report of our next European opponents.
Want to know more about this weeks European opponents? Well here are some key facts and players to watch for this weeks fixture.
Birkirkara FC are four-time champions of The Maltese Premier League, last claiming victory back in the 2012-13 season. The club play their home matches at The Ta’ Qali National Stadium in Birkirkara which has a capacity of 18,000, in the island nations biggest town.
The Maltese side have only made it past the First Qualifying Round of The Europa League or previous equivalent competitions in 3 of their last 20 attempts.
They recorded their first ever away victory in UEFA competitions defeating Ulisses FC of Armenia 3-1, in the first round of this years competition.
The club who are nicknamed The Stripes, are coached by Italian Giovanni Tedesco a former Central Midfielder for a handful of Serie A sides including Palermo and Genoa.
Players to Watch
Fabrizio Miccoli is Birkirkara FC’s greatest threat. The Italian journeyman is renowned for his pace and finishing abilities and represented his country on 10 occasions.
He has also represented 8 Italian league sides at club level including stints at Juventus, Palermo and Fiorentina.
Miccoli signed for Maltese side this summer and made an instant impact in the club’s previous European fixture. The forward scored the club’s opening goal and assisted the second with a free-kick.
West Ham’s defenders will also want to keep tabs on Brazilian forward Elliton Morais, the club’s top goal scorer last season. The skillful forward notched up 13 goals in 21 appearances for the club, starting just 18 of those matches.
Birkirkara FC will certainly pose a greater threat than our previous opponents in The Europa League as The Boleyn Ground looks set for another sell-out European night.
