Local champions Valletta FC have an arduous task ahead of them this afternoon as they face Birkirkara FC in what is considered to be the match of the weekend.

And with leaders Hibernians facing bottom-placed Mosta on Monday evening, the citizens are well aware that they cannot afford to drop points even if the competition is still at an early stage.

What makes Valletta’s task arduous is the fact that Birkirkara are also in the same position – they need the three points from this match badly. If they suffer another defeat, the gap between them and the leaders will be expected to increase by Monday evening.

In the other matches at the weekend, there is what promises to be an interesting clash between the in form Qormi and Mqabba sides early this afternoon. Tomorrow, in the first match, Tarxien face Marsaxlokk while in the second encounter, Hamrun Spartans come up against Sliema. On Monday evening, after the Hibs-Mosta clash, Floriana face Balzan in the last match of this seventh round.

One innovation this weekend will be the re-use of the Victor Tedesco Stadium in Hamrun. The first matches – from the first division – are to be played this afternoon. Another two first division matches will be played tomorrow while it is also the venue for next Monday’s two Premier League matches in the evening.

Construction works at this venue are almost complete. At present, it will be replacing the Hibs Stadium which is now up for re-seeding.

But back to the Premier League. Taking a glance at the standings, after six rounds, Hibernians are the outright leaders with 16 points, followed by Valletta on 15, Floriana 13, Sliema 12, Qormi and Birkirkara 10 each. Mqabba on 7, Balzan 5, Marsaxlokk, Hamrun and Tarxien 4 and Mosta one point, are at the bottom end of the table.

It is also well to note that only Hibernians and Sliema Wanderers have remained unbeaten in the opening six rounds.

The leaders seem to have an easy match next Monday. The Paolites, in fact, should be considered firm favourites to beat Mosta who have been somewhat unlucky in this difficult start to their season.

As already said, the Valletta-Birkirkara clash takes all the limelight for various reasons.

Not only are the two teams in search of the three points at stake, but Birkirkara are now, once again, under the charge of coach Paul Zammit.

The return of Zammit could prove to be a newly-found motivation for the Stripes who have had a rather disappointing run under Patrick Curmi. Today’s match will be the first for Zammit and it should prove to be a big test for him and his subjects.

The same can be said of Jesmond Zerafa and his team of stars at Valletta. After having lost against Hibernians some weeks ago, they are now aware that a defeat against the Stripes will certainly be a major setback in view of the forthcoming matches against Floriana and Sliema later this month.

Earlier this afternoon, Qormi and Mqabba cross swords in a match in which both sides will be seeking to confirm their current good moment.

Qormi, in particular are occupying one of the top six places at present and they have been performing quite well after a shaky start to the season.

Mqabba had a good run halted by Valletta in their last encounter. However, that might have been an expected defeat although they were never humiliated. Now the Premier newcomers look forward to resume their commitments with another positive result.

Tomorrow, the first match on the programme is the clash between the two most disappointing teams so far this season – Marsaxlokk and Tarxien Rainbows.

Both are struggling at the lower end of the table and they need to show better form and stronger commitment if they are to avoid relegation trouble in the second phase.

That match will be followed by the Sliema-Hamrun clash in which the Wanderers will be trying to seize a possible chance to improve their current placing.

The Wanderers, in fact, are favourites to beat the Spartans who registered their first win against Mosta (1-0) in their last encounter.

On Monday, in the final match on the programme, Floriana are also firm favourites to beat Balzan Youths.

The Greens are once again playing the game of protagonists this season and on current form, they should have few problems to dispose of the modest Balzan side.

However, they must not ignore Ivan Zammit’s boys. In fact, the Youths produced one of their best performances in their last match to squeeze a point from a draw with the more illustrious Sliema Wanderers.

The Greens will therefore have to be on the alert to avoid a surprise.