Lincoln Red Imps vs Hamrun

Europa point stadium forms the backdrop for a fiercely contested Champions League first-round qualifying tie between Lincoln Red Imps and Hamrun.

Lincoln Red Imps pipped St Josephs to their fourth successive Gibraltar Football League title in 2023/24, climbing to the podium courtesy of a two-point gap between the sides. Keen to make it out of the opening Champions League qualifying round for the first time since 2015/16, Lincoln grabbed a precious 1-0 first-leg win in Malta to uphold their near-flawless record in competitive action in 2024 (W17, D1). Despite netting precisely once across their last two outings, Javi Munoz’s men have been firing on all cylinders this calendar year, scoring 3+ goals in 11 of those 18 unbeaten matches. On top of that, they’ve won their last three home games by at least a three-goal margin, suggesting a place in the next qualifying round is a mere formality for the Red Imps.

In the meantime, Hamrun failed to recover from being reduced to ten men inside the opening ten minutes in the reverse fixture, throwing their hopes of advancing into the second Champions League qualifying round for the first time into doubt. But since that’s their only defeat in regulation across their last seven competitive matches (W4, D2), the visitors take this trip confident of making a turnaround. Alessandro Zinnari’s side can draw further inspiration from winning their last two competitive away contests ‘to nil,’ though they lament an unenviable continental record on the road. Indeed, they’ve lost 12 of their 16 European away assignments (W4), conceding 2+ goals on ten occasions while failing to find the net on nine!