Birkirkara coach Paul Zammit will have three more players available this evening in the match against Hibernians as the champions look to forget the disastrous performance against Floriana last Saturday and return to winning form.

International midfielders Shaun Bajada and Paul Fenech, as well as central defender Patrick Borg have served their two-match suspension and will be back in the squad this evening, if not in the starting line-up.

But Zammit will still be missing Nikola Vukanac, another central defender. He is still suspended and will only become available in the next match.

Also missing from the Stripes line-up will be Brazilian goalkeeper Ezequiel Lovizon. A fractured hand following an incident in the opening clash against Sliema has ruled him out of action for around four months.

After the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Floriana, Birkirkara will be eager to return to winning form as quickly as possible, but this will be no easy task.

The Stripes, in fact, will have to be at their very best to overcome the Hibernians challenge this evening.

So far the Paolites have emerged as one of the strongest sides in the competition, especially after their very good performance against Valletta last Friday.

Mark Miller’s boys seem to have the potential to challenge very seriously for the title with the four foreigners, especially Matt Clarke at the back and Paul McManus in attack, being the mainstays.

Talented youngsters like Triston Caruana and Edward Herrera as well as seasoned campaigners Mario Muscat, Aaron Xuereb and Adrian Pulis are also giving a valid contribution to the side.

Against Valletta last week, however, they conceded two goals from set-pieces and this is what the squad was expected to work upon throughout the past week. If they can avoid such goals, then Hibernians will be a very tough nut to crack for any team this season.

The match, at the Ta’ Qali national stadium, kicks off at 7.30pm.