# 2020–21 Maltese Premier League

The 2020–21 Maltese Premier League was the 106th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-flight league football in Malta. Floriana were the defending champions, having won their 26th title the previous season.
On 10 March 2021, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta, a decision was made by the Government of Malta to suspend all football activities in Malta for one month.
On 9 April, the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. Hamrun Spartans, who were top of the table at the time of the season's suspension, were declared the champions. Their first league title in exactly 30 years.

## Teams

Sixteen teams will compete in the league which will include the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams are Żejtun Corinthians, who will be playing their first season in the top division, and Lija Athetlic.
| Team | In league since | City | Training Stadium | Capacity |
| Balzan | 2011 | Balzan | St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex | 100 |
| Birkirkara | 1990 | Birkirkara | Mgarr Ground | |
| Floriana | 1986 | Floriana | Independence Arena | |
| Gudja United | 2019 | Gudja | Louis Azzopardi Stadium | |
| Gżira United | 2016 | Gżira | Gzira Football Ground | |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2016 | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Hibernians | 1945 | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
| Lija Athletic | 2020 | Lija | Lija Stadium | 500 |
| Mosta | 2011 | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| St. Lucia | 2019 | Santa Luċija | Grawnd Santa Luċija | |
| Senglea Athletic | 2017 | Senglea | Corradino C | 100 |
| Sirens | 2019 | St. Paul's Bay | Sirens Stadium | 600 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1984 | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2008 | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Valletta | 1944 | Valletta | Sirens Stadium | 600 |
| Żejtun Corinthians | 2020 | Żejtun | | |

## Venues

| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola |
| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium |
| Ta' QaliTa' QaliTony Bezzina Stadium | Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Balzan | Mark Miller | Joma | Investors Mutual Limited |
| Birkirkara | André Paus | Adidas | McDonald's |
| Floriana | John Buttigieg | Joma | Scotts Supermarket, Boggi |
| Gudja United | Cyril Buttigieg | Givova | All Nuts, Emilio Bilocca Handy Man |
| Gżira United | Darren Abdilla | Puma | |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Mark Buttigieg | Puma | J. Portelli Projects |
| Hibernians | Stefano Sanderra | Joma | Bezzina |
| Lija Athletic | Joseph Galea | Macron | The Falzon Group Of Companies |
| Mosta | Davor Filipović | Macron | Dimbros, Nilmar |
| Senglea Athletic | Clive Mizzi | Givova | Palumbo |
| Sirens | Giovanni Tedesco | Macron | Teamsport, Gillieru Harbour Hotel, Valyou Supermarket |
| Sliema Wanderers | Andrea Pisanu | Jartazi | Catco Capital Investment, Catco Group Holding, Sixt, Sharjah |
| St. Lucia | Oliver Spiteri | Macron | Multivend |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Winston Muscat | Erreà | Cassar Ship Repairs |
| Valletta | Cardoso Mendes | Puma | Iniala |
| Żejtun Corinthians | Orosco Anonam | Adidas | |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Macron, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Demis Paul Scerri | Resign | 21 May 2020 | Pre-season | Winston Muscat | 12 June 2020 |
| Gudja United | Josef Mansueto | Resign | 21 May 2020 | Pre-season | Jesmond Zammit | 16 June 2020 |
| Gżira United | Paul Zammit | Resign | 29 May 2020 | Pre-season | Darren Abdilla | 24 June 2020 |
| Valletta | Giovanni Tedesco | Resign | 13 June 2020 | Pre-season | Jesmond Zerafa | 18 June 2020 |
| Mosta | Mark Miller | Mutual consent | 16 June 2020 | Pre-season | Davor Filipović | 21 June 2020 |
| Balzan | Ludvig Bartolo | End of caretaker | 22 June 2020 | Pre-season | Mark Miller | 22 June 2020 |
| Valletta | Jesmond Zerafa | Resign | 30 November 2020 | 9th | Cardoso Mendes | 28 December 2020 |
| Sirens | Steve D'Amato | Sacked | 14 December 2020 | 11th | Giovanni Tedesco | 14 December 2020 |
| Floriana | Vincenzo Potenza | Resign | 24 December 2020 | 10th | John Buttigieg | 25 December 2020 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ħamrun Spartans (C) | 23 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 20 | +36 | 56 | |
| 2 | Hibernians | 23 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 53 | 20 | +33 | 51 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Gżira United | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Birkirkara | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 25 | +20 | 44 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Sliema Wanderers | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 31 | +8 | 40 | |
| 6 | Mosta | 23 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 36 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 7 | Valletta | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 33 | |
| 8 | St. Lucia | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 29 | |
| 9 | Sirens | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 28 | |
| 10 | Balzan | 23 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 27 | |
| 11 | Gudja United | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 27 | |
| 12 | Floriana | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 34 | −8 | 27 | |
| 13 | Żejtun Corinthians (R) | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 24 | Relegation to the 2021–22 Maltese Challenge League |
| 14 | Tarxien Rainbows (R) | 23 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 25 | 48 | −23 | 21 | Relegation to the 2021–22 Maltese Challenge League |
| 15 | Lija Athetlic (R) | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 46 | −21 | 20 | Relegation to the 2021–22 Maltese Challenge League |
| 16 | Senglea Athletic (R) | 23 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 62 | −49 | 2 | Relegation to the 2021–22 Maltese Challenge League |
* ↑ Ħamrun Spartans were banned from competing in European competitions for a match fixing case dating back to 2013.
* ↑ Sliema Wanderers failed to obtain a UEFA license.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GUD | GZI | HAM | HIB | LIJ | MOS | SEN | SIR | SLI | SLC | TAR | VAL | ZEJ |
| Balzan | — | — | 0–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Birkirkara | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 4–1 | 0–3 | — | — | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 |
| Floriana | 0–0 | 2–5 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | — | 0–0 |
| Gudja United | 3–2 | — | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Gżira United | — | — | 4–1 | — | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 4–0 | — | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | — | 2–2 | 5–0 | — | 4–0 |
| Hibernians | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | — | — | 2–2 | — | 8–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Lija Athetlic | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — |
| Mosta | 3–3 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–3 | — | — | 5–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 |
| Senglea Athletic | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–5 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Sirens | — | 2–4 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — |
| St. Lucia | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–4 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | — | 0–1 | — | 7–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | — |
| Valletta | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–4 | — | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Żejtun Corinthians | 0–0 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–4 | — | 2–3 | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | — |
* ↑ Gżira United were awarded a 3–0 win after the Malta Football Association's Protests Board upheld their protest. Originally, the match ended in a 1–1 draw.

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 10 March 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kevin Rosero | St. Lucia | 17 |
| 2 | Bojan Kaljević | Mosta | 14 |
| 3 | Dodô | Ħamrun Spartans | 13 |
| 3 | Luke Montebello | Birkirkara | 13 |
| 3 | Franklin Sasere | Ħamrun Spartans | 13 |
| 6 | Jean Paul Farrugia | Sliema Wanderers | 12 |
| 6 | Jake Grech | Hibernians | 12 |
| 8 | Jurgen Degabriele | Hibernians | 11 |
| 8 | Maxuell | Gżira United | 11 |
| 10 | Yuri | Gudja United | 10 |
| 10 | Vito Plut | Tarxien Rainbows | 10 |

### Red Cards

| Rank | Club | Most Red Cards |
| 1 | Gżira United | 7 |
| 2 | Senglea Athletic | 6 |
| 2 | Sirens | 6 |
| 2 | Valletta | 6 |
| 5 | Sliema Wanderers | 5 |
| 5 | Żejtun Corinthians | 5 |
| 7 | Balzan | 4 |
| 7 | St. Lucia | 4 |
| 9 | Gudja United | 3 |
| 9 | Mosta | 3 |
| 11 | Birkirkara | 2 |
| 11 | Floriana | 2 |
| 11 | Ħamrun Spartans | 2 |
| 11 | Hibernians | 2 |
| 11 | Lija Athletic | 2 |