Second placed Valletta, have the chance to go top of the BOV Premier League standings over the weekend if they beat Pieta Hotspurs in the second match of today’s programme, as leaders Sliema Wanderers will not be in action.
Floriana may also top the perch, at least for a few minutes, by beating fourth-placed Hibernians in the previous match, but on paper, the Citizens’ task looks more reachable.
Judging on present form and the strength of the opposition, Valletta should not fail to clinch their third consecutive win and continue with their revival after a shaky start to the season.
Buoyed by last week’s success against rivals Floriana, Valletta should keep on track and bag full points. They will miss their striker Monesterolo, scorer of five goals in their last two matches, due to suspension but Pieta are also bereft of one of their key players, Svetlan Kondev for the same reason.
Besides, Pieta’s defence is badly hampered by injuries at the moment and today this department is expected to come under a stern test under Valletta’s powerful striking force.
Floriana have not won their previous three matches as they face the in-form and improving Hibernians today without Zoran Levniac. They may also be without Drasko Krsteski, who missed the Valletta match. Their strikers Adrian Mifsud and Christian Caruana must show more sharpness up front after going sterile recently.
Hibernians are only one point behind Floriana and a win today will take them further close to the leading pack. Hibernians are unbeaten in five matches, since their defeat by Sliema in September and are hitting form at the right time.
Tomorrow’s matches involve Marsaxlokk against Msida SJ. The champions narrowly beat Pieta with a Kevin Sammut penalty last week, showing flaws in their team and lacking flair and invention. Renato Conceicao and Cleaven Frendo are suspended and that complicates further selection problems as Marsaxlokk lack a big squad.
Having said that, Msida are also heavily handicapped by the suspension of their three players, Doding Priso, Dino Cachia and Stefano Grima. Msida SJ are in dire need of points to move further up from the danger zone but must show considerable improvement to avoid the Relegation Pool after this second round.
Birkirkara, one point adrift of Marsaxlokk, Hamrun and Hibernians, have the chance to recover from last week’s defeat and shabby performance against Hibernians by beating bottom side Mqabba. The Stripes eagerly await the return of Michael Galea in attack and a replacement for the departed foreigner Tamboulas. Tomorrow they may be bolstered by the return of defender Hartvig after suspension.
Mqabba will miss the services of one of their talented players, Claudio Calleja as they seek to halt their poor streak of four straight defeats, even though at times their performances belie their table position.