Ħamrun Spartans to face FK Zalgiris in UEFA Champions League qualifiers

Ħamrun Spartans were drawn to face Lithuania’s FK Zalgiris in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

The Malta champions were the second name out of Tuesday’s draw and will see them head to Lithuania to take on Zalgiris in the two-leg tie scheduled for next round.

The Spartans were hopeful of picking up a favourable draw in a bid to try and surpass the first qualifying round and boosting their hopes of making the group stages of the UEFA Conference League.

When on Tuesday morning UEFA issued the list of possible opponents for the Spartans, it looked like the Maltese side were set for a tough draw after being put in the same section with Swedish champions Malmo, Zalgiris, FC RFS, of Latvia, Finnish side KuPS and The New Saints of Wales with the majority of these teams all with experience of playing in the group stages of a UEFA competition.

In the end, the Spartans were paired with Zalgiris, the Lithuanian champions, who are set to offer a stern test to the Maltese side given that they are midway through their domestic season and surely in a better physical condition than Ħamrun.

A major advantage for Ħamrun is the fact that they play the first leg in Lithuania and will host the crucial second leg in Malta.

However, when one sees how Zalgiris are performing this season, there is cause for optimism as after winning last year’s title, Zalgiris are almost out of the equation to defend their title as they are currently in eighth place in the ten-team division with just 18 points, and 13 adrift of FK Kauno Zalgiris.

Their highest performance in Europe was in season 2022-23 when they reached the group stages of the UEFA Conference League and faced Swiss side Basel, Slovan Bratislava, of Slovakia, and Armenian side Pyunik.

The following season they came close to repeating the feat but werer knockoed out by Ferencvaros.

Last summer, Zalgiris suffered a disappointing elimination as they were knocked out by Cypriot side Pafos 4-2 on aggregate.

Still, the Spartans will need to raise their level of performance in Europe if they are to challenge the Lithuanians for a spot in the second qualifying round following last year’s disappointment.

Ħamrun were knocked out by Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps in the first qualifying round of the Champions League and then were eliminated by Montenegro’s Balkani in the second qualifying round of the Conference League.