The eighth round of the Bank of Valletta Premier League is again being played over four days between today and Monday.
The programme starts this evening with Floriana-Senglea and Sliema-Mosta. Tomorrow, it will be Gzira-Gudja and Valletta-Tarxien, on Sunday it is Balzan-Sirens and Hamrun-Birkirkara and it concludes on Monday with the match between Sta Lucia and Hibernians.
As the campaign evolves, it is evident that some of the teams are impressive more than those who are struggling, among them those considered among the big local clubs as Birkirkara and Sliema.
But it also seems to be a good opportunity for front runners Floriana to increase their lead at the top.
In fact, the Greens seem to be well geared for this evening's game against sixth placed Senglea.
The Greens, despite being very impressive in the second half against Sirens last weekend, must still be on the alert as it is obvious that Senglea are not to be ignored.
The Yellow Reds are one of the revelation clubs this season and can give any club a good run for their money.
It is a different kettle of fish for Hamrun who will be facing Birkirkara in Sunday's top match.
The Spartans will have the advantage of knowing the result of the Floriana match, but they also must expect a tough challenge from Birkirkara who are now desperate to start earning precious points to move away from the relegation zone.
The Spartans did well to forget about their defeat against Mosta as they overcame Hibernians last Monday to move into second place.
Now they will be expected to produce their best once again against the struggling Stripes to maintain the pace with the leaders.
Birkirkara are now in a desperate situation. One might have expected them to continue on the right track after their 1-0 win against Hibernians, but last weekend, they were again back to square one as they left their fans bitterly disappointed with a 3-1 defeat against Gzira.
The Stripes must show improvement immediately if they are to avoid trouble in future.
THE HIGHLIGHT
The top match in this programme should be the clash between mid-table placed sides Sta Lucia and Hibernians.
This is also a derby clash and it is the first ever between these two sides in the Premier League.
Hibernians disappointed their followers suffering two successive defeats against Birkirkara and Hamrun in their last two matches.
They will now be looking forward to return on the winning track against their rivals, who will also be aiming to return to winning form.
The Saints have gone three matches without a win after their victory against Tarxien on 29 September, that is, almost a month ago.
Gzira seem to have a good chance to win their 4th match in a row as they take on lowly Gudja tomorrow.
The Maroons were again impressive against Birkirkara and confirmed their all-round strength, but they will have to be at their best once again against Gudja.
This is because the latter gave Valletta a very strong challenge last Sunday and were certainly very unlucky to have left the Centenary Stadium empty-handed.
Champions Valletta have a good chance to bag another three points as they face bottom placed Tarxien Rainbows tomorrow.
Despite being somewhat unimpressive, the citizens are still one of the strongest sides in the competition, and there is no doubt they start as firm favourites to outgun their opponents.
Tarxien, in fact, will be in for another difficult task as they still search for their first point/s of the season, having lost all their seven matches so far.
Sliema are also a team in dire straits and they must roll up their sleeves if they are to avoid future trouble.
Against Mosta today, they must win the three points at stake to be able to breathe more freely, but it will not be easy.
Mosta have proved to be a stumbling block having held Birkirkara to a draw and also beaten Hamrun Spartans to occupy a comfortable 7th place in the standings with 10 points.
The Balzan-Sirens encounter tomorrow should also be a balanced match.
Balzan will be going all out to maintain their positive run, while the St Paul's Bay side will be aiming to return to winning form after their 4-1 drubbing against Floriana.