The Bank of Valletta Premier League resumes this weekend after a rather long wait during which only two matches were played last Sunday.

The programme opens this afternoon with the highly interesting Birkirkara-Msida St Joseph clash quickly followed by the ‘hot’ derby between Valletta and Floriana.

Tomorrow, the top two will be in action, first Sliema taking on bottom placed Mosta followed by the Hibernians-Pieta clash.

It is a very interesting programme which is no doubt highlighted by the Valletta-Floriana city and suburban derby – always considered as one of the most keenly consted matches on the island.

At present, the two teams are not passing through a healthy moment, and they are both occupying a lowly position. It is evident, in fact, that both will be seeking to win the three points at stake to improve their position and move closer to make sure of a place in the top six when the Championship Pool is around.

Valletta will have coach Paul Zammit making his debut having been appointed recently after the resignation of JJ Aquilina. The former Mosta coach now has the onus to lift the citizens’ morale and push them up the table to avoid the Relegation Pool.

The same may be said of Floriana, who are in an even worse situation. In fact, Valletta are sixth on 11 points, the same as Pieta, but with a better goal difference, while Floriana are in ninth place with just six points from 10 matches.

The two teams have had a very poor first round and unless they can pull up their socks and show considerable improvement, they are bound to face a lot of trouble in this second round.

Today’s opening match should also be very interesting with last season’s finalists in the FA Trophy competition, Birkirkara and St Joseph, facing each other.

When the competition stopped five weeks ago – Msida remained active by playing in the Trophy preliminary round – the two teams were showing consistency with Birkirkara, also thanks to Sliema’s lapses, managing to close the gap from eight points to just two after four consecutive wins.

On their part, Msida are in a healthy fifth position on 16 points, two behind Marsaxlokk but with today’s game in hand, and five over Valletta and Pieta.

The Saints are passing through a glorious moment at present and Birkirkara will do well to be on the alert, especially at the back, as Msida strikers Nwoke and Babatunde will be eager to exploit any deficiencies in the Stripes rear.

Tomorrow, leaders Sliema should have no difficulty in returning to winning form after two consecutive defeats and a draw from their last three matches. In fact, they will be facing bottom-placed Mosta and Aquilina’s side is odds-on favourites to win and regain some of their lost confidence.

The Blues have been in disappointing form for most of the first round and the two defeats against Pieta and Hibernians came at a time when it seemed as if they were running away with this year’s title which could be a fourth in succession for them.

Yet, they went on to force a draw against Hamrun Spartans last week where they again showed that the side lacks real motivation. It seems as if they are no longer hungry for success.

But against Mosta they should not fail to collect the points, though the bottom-placed club is in desperate need for points. Sliema had emerged easy 6-0 winners in the first round match, and Mosta will be doing all their best to avoid another similar drubbing.

The second match tomorrow should also see Hibernians gaining the three points against Pieta Hotspurs.

The Paolites will probably know that they will have to go out for a victory if Sliema win and extend their lead to four points at the top. A victory for the Paolites will return them to second place, one point behind the Wanderers and with a game in hand.

But it is not only Hibernians who will be in search of the points. Pieta also need to move up the table as they are still far from securing a place among the top six.

Their recent victory over Sliema, however, is not just an encouragement for Georgi Deanov’s team, but also an eye opener for the Paolites, who will do their utmost not to be surprised.