The first round of the Championship Pool will come to an end with this weekend’s programme which, as usual, will see two matches being played today, and another one tomorrow.

After last week’s easy victory for Sliema over their nearest challengers Valletta, it has now become obvious that the Wanderers have made a bold step forward towards securing a third consecutive title.

It was a precious victory for the Blues who now enjoy a four-point lead over the same Valletta and could see that lead even being extended this afternoon.

In fact, if the Blues win against the unpredictable Hibernians and Valletta miss out on some points from their clash with Birkirkara, one might even say that the title challenge would be over as the Blues would start the second phase with a massive seven-point lead, with only the remaining five matches to be played.

Missing from this afternoon’s clash is the battle between Sliema defender Darren Debono and Hibernians striker Terence Scerri. Both are suspended.

The Blues will certainly show no mercy as they intend to make sure of the title as early as possible, but they must be on the alert as Hibernians have almost always offered them a strong challenge, and this year has been no exception.

The Paolites are now distanced by eight points from Sliema and it seems as if their only hope is to continue challenging for a place in next year’s UEFA Cup via the runner-up placing, apart from the FA Trophy.

The match that follows, between Valletta and Birkirkara, would have been a more keenly contested match had the two sides not missed out on some precious points, especially Birkirkara.

The Stripes are even one point further off Hibernians in the standings and cannot possibly hope to revive their chances even if that is still mathematically possible.

However, the battle for that runner-up placing is still on and one expects the two sides to challenge seriously and make the best of a situation which will be known even better before kick-off, as this match is being played after the Sliema-Hibs encounter.

Tomorrow, the two bottom-placed clubs, Marsaxlokk and Floriana meet each other.

The two teams won their only point in the Championship Pool last week in draws against Birkirkara and Hibernians respectively, but it is evident that given they have no chance in the league, they will take the match as serious preparation in view of their forthcoming commitments in the FA Trophy. That is the two clubs’ remaining chance to get to Europe next season.

In the Relegation Pool, Pieta Hotspurs and Lija Athletic meet in a delicate clash for both sides.

Pieta are well aware that a defeat will push them closer to the bottom two clubs and therefore the issue will again be wide open.

A victory for the Hotspurs will enable them to breathe more freely as Lija will then become the first firm favourites for this year’s Big Drop.