Barely four weeks have passed since Floriana’s 1-0 win over Valletta in the FA Trophy final and both teams will be facing each other competitively once again this evening as they face each other in the opening match of the Euro Cup.

The match is being played at the Hibernians Stadium and kicks off at 7.30pm.

The Euro Cup is reserved for the three teams taking part in the Champions League and the Europa League and such a competition has to be staged early because the preliminary rounds of the UEFA competitions get under way later this month and early next month. The other team taking part is Birkirkara who will be in action for the first time next Monday against the losers of today’s clash.

After their victory in the FA Trophy, Floriana will be seeking to repeat the dose against their arch rivals this evening.

Coach Michael Woods will have more or less the same squad but there will be a newcomer in the form of team manager Joe Abela, formerly of Birkirkara FC.

The team will rely mainly on the nucleus of players who did so well last season with foreign goalkeepers Lotfi Saidi and Matthew Towns as well as midfielder Pablo Doffo and striker Daniel Nwoke being confirmed once again.

On their part, Valletta will have some new foreigners among their ranks. Two of them have already been signed. These are Ousseni Zongo, a former striker with Msida St Joseph, and Miodrag Andelkovic, another striker, but from Serbia. Also, a Brazilian, Barbosa da Silva, is on trial with the citizens. They are all expected to be given the chance to prove their worth in the City side by coach Jesmond Zerafa in this competition.

Valletta will have top striker Terence Scerri missing from their line-up as he starts serving his eight-match suspension (plus another five in the FA Trophy).

Zerafa and his boys will be eager to take revenge over the Greens for their FA Trophy defeat – the only one they suffered during the whole of last season.