HENRY BRINCAT

League leaders Floriana will be facing Hamrun Spartans and top rivals Valletta and Birkirkara face each other this afternoon as the local championship resumes after a very long five-week break.

The programme also sees the return of Premier League football at the Hibernians Ground at Corradino where tomorrow, Msida first come up against Mqabba and later Pieta take on joint leaders Sliema W.

At present, the standings see Sliema and Floriana sharing first place on 16 points. They are followed by Marsaxlokk in third place on 13, Hibernians and Birkirkara on 12, Hamrun on 11, Valletta and Pieta nine, Msida five and Mqabba in bottom place on three points. Floriana, Hamrun, Birkirkara and Valletta have today’s match in hand over the others.

In actual fact, today’s matches will bring the eighth round to an end with the ninth starting tomorrow.

After five weeks inactive, most of the teams might find it hard to find the rhythm while others may think of the stoppage as a blessing in disguise.

However, the competition now resumes and should continue normally with interest probably being regenerated depending, of course, on performances and results obtained by the various teams.

For example, it will be interesting to see whether the early pace-setters, Floriana, will be effected by the stoppage. The Greens had been going through a splendid run with Danilo Doncic in charge.

They have undergone another training camp in Serbia during this stoppage and they are hoping to do as well as they did after the first camp held in summer.

Hamrun, however, may have other ideas. The Spartans have done relatively well following last year’s promotion and they will not be throwing in the towel so easily against the Greens.

Under the charge of Marco Gerada, the side seems to be clicking and the joint league leaders will have to be on full alert to avoid any unpleasant surprise.

The second match today is local football’s current best derby between Valletta and Birkirkara. Before the break, both teams had been passing through a lean moment, especially Valletta who, despite all their signings in the off-season, are still occupying a position near the bottom end of the standings with just nine points from seven matches.

The citizens are eager to return to winning form, but they might still have to wait a little longer, especially if skipper Gilbert Agius will still be unable to play in this encounter.

Agius has been out of action for the last six weeks and it was hoped that he would make a welcome return against the Stripes. But it seems as if his inclusion today is still very much in doubt.

On their part, Birkirkara do not seem to have any injury problems and they will also be eager to return to winning form. In their last three matches, the Stripes unexpectedly lost to Pieta 1-2 and then were held to draws by Msida and Hamrun.

It is evident that both John Buttigieg of Birkirkara and Paul Zammit of Valletta will be urging their players to go for the three points in this match which promises to give a good kick-start to the League after the long break.

Tomorrow, Sliema Wanderers should be considered favourites to beat Pieta Hotspurs to retain their place on top of the standings, if not alone, with Floriana, assuming the latter beat Hamrun today.

The Blues, as all the others, might find it hard to find the rhythm which they had established before the start of the break. In fact, after a rather monotonous start to the season, the side, under coach Ray Farrugia, had improved and moved up the table with some excellent performances reminiscent of the days when they had last won the title.

Pieta, under Carmel Busuttil, could be dangerous opponents, but their main problem is their inconsistency, mixing good performances with others so mediocre.

The side relies mainly on the abilities of midfielders Martin Deanov and Svetlan Kondev. But they will also have to show improvement at the back if they are to aspire for a safer placing in the standings.

The first match tomorrow is a good opportunity for either side – Msida and Mqabba – to try and take the three points in an effort to improve their lowly position in the standings. However, even if any one of them wins, there will be no change at all as they will still occupy the bottom two places.