League leaders Hibernians face a second tough test in this season’s campaign when they take on champions Birkirkara tomorrow in the fifth round of matches.
Also on the card this weekend are Vittoriosa-Qormi, Rabat-Floriana, Sliema-Tarxien and Valletta-Naxxar L. (all today) and Balzan-Mosta (tomorrow).
At present, Hibernians lead the standings on maximum points – 12 – from the four matches played. They are followed by Birkirkara and Sliema on 10 and Valletta on 9. Naxxar are next on 7 points, Mosta 6, Balzan 4, Qormi and Tarxien 3, Vittoriosa 1, Rabat zero points and Floriana are still on -2.
Without any shadow of doubt, the main interest revolves round tomorrow’s encounter between the leaders and the Stripes.
It is the match of this weekend and the Paolites’ main challengers, that is Sliema and Valletta, will all be hoping for either a slip by the Paolites or the sharing of the spoils, because they are well aware that another victory for the Paolites will possibly see them distancing themselves from all their rivals in the not so distant future.
Of course, it will not be easy for Branko Nisevic’s side to maintain their 100 per cent record against the Stripes. But the Paolites will be eager to erase the sad memory of that Championship decider defeat last season against the same Stripes. Moreover, also fresh in their minds, is the 3-2 defeat against the same opponents in the Super Cup match last month.
So one might expect a bolder effort from Hibernians to avoid defeat, at least, tomorrow.
After having struggled to beat neighbours Tarxien in the opening match, the Paolites went on to beat Valletta, Vittoriosa and Rabat.
And it is evident that the side is going from strength to strength, gaining confidence with every match they are playing.
But they are now facing a Birkirkara team which is also improving with every match and which is, after all, considered by many, as the leading favourite for a second title in a row.
The Stripes might still be far away from last season’s form, but they look even stronger this time round.
Paul Zammit and the club administrators seem to have made the right choices to fill the weak spots in the team last season and are now hoping that the team will gel as quickly as possible to be able to surmount the obstacles facing them as they challenge for a second consecutive title apart from the other honours.
Sliema and Valletta seem to have a good chance to maintain their current victorious form as they face relatively weaker opponents in Tarxien Rainbows and Naxxar Lions respectively.
Both Sliema and Valletta seem to be well equipped for the title challenge this season, but they will have to show consistency throughout the season.
Today, they should have little worries, but they cannot take their opponents for granted.
Sliema, in fact, face a Tarxien side which has suffered two consecutive defeats and is now looking to return to a positive result as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, City’s opponents, the newly promoted Naxxar, are riding the crest of the waves after having recorded two wins and a draw from their opening four matches.
Qormi will also be expected to bag the three points against Vittoriosa. The Yellow Blacks just missed the bus against Valletta as they were beaten by a very late strike. The Stars have had a difficult start and after finishing on the losing end against Naxxar, they now seek to show improvement to move up the table.
In today’s other match, Floriana have a good chance to continue bridging the gap with the teams above them (they started with -7, then -6) when they face struggling Rabat Ajax, just above them on zero points.
A victory for the Greens will see them overtaking the Ajax in the standings, but if Rabat manage to find a solution to their attacking problems – they are very wasteful – then it might be another story this evening.
Tomorrow’s Balzan-Mosta clash should be a keen and close encounter between two teams at present occupying a mid-table placing.