City could take sole leadership

After the New Year celebrations, today heralds a return to Premier League action even though a scheduled four-match marathon programme had to be halved late yesterday when the Malta FA announced that no matches from the top flight will be played at the Tedesco Stadium.

No specific reason was given for the postponement of the two early kick-offs at Hamrun - Marsaxlokk vs Floriana and St Patrick vs Sliema Wanderers.

The Division One matches at the Hibs Ground in Corradino were also called off.

Naxxar were to play Senglea and Marsa against San Gwann.

Despite the shortage of details from the association's part, one assumes that the inclement weather which hit the islands these past few days had probably rendered both turf pitches unfit for play.

As things evolved following yesterday evening's decision, attention today will now focus solely on the two Premier League matches in the afternoon at the National Stadium.

Tomorrow, interest will shift to the Centenary Stadium where Hibs and Msida St Joseph complete the first batch of matches of 2005.

Clashes featuring teams pursuing a berth in the Championship Pool are likely to gain the biggest share of attention at this stage of the campaign. However, the leading teams are also bound to attract significant interest as they seek to remain in charge of the standings and keep the momentum going.

With Sliema not involved in today's programme, Valletta could seize sole leadership in the standings for the first time this season if they beat next-from-bottom Lija Athletic.

Valletta are currently tied on the 26-point mark with the Wanderers who, however, have a game in hand.

High optimism

Lija Athletic vs Valletta (today at 3 p.m., National Stadium).

Optimism is high in the capital after City's superb nine-match unbeaten run catapulted them to the summit of the standings and their 2-1 defeat of Pietà on Boxing Day earned the team a place in the FA Trophy quarter-finals.

Their passionate fans will expect nothing less than another victory today when the Whites tackle minnows Lija but a complacent approach on the morrow of New Year's day will surely not help Valletta's chances of stretching their winning sequence.

J.J. Aquilina, the Citizens' coach, is unlikely to make many changes from the team that had the better of Pietà.

Jaroslav Marx is still struggling to shake off a hip injury and Jonathan Bondin is also out after picking up a knock in the 5-1 win over Msida.

Lija coach Ilir Pelinku is concerned about the one-match suspension meted out to Nicky Gatt and the fitness of Giles Lanzon.

Albanian Kristo Anastas was released by Lija last week.

First round - Lija Athletic vs Valletta 1-4.

Buoyant Stripes

Birkirkara vs Pietà (today at 5 p.m., National Stadium).

Super Five Cup winners Birkirkara, third in the table with a four-point gap from the joint leaders, are bracing themselves for a gruelling afternoon as they come across Pietà Hotspurs, one of a clutch of teams eager to earn the comfort of a Championship Pool slot.

Hoisting the Super Five Cup at the expense of Sliema ought to have emboldened Birkirkara's resolve to show their true mettle where it matters most, i.e., the Premier League.

This afternoon's clash promises to be a stern test for the Stripes' mental power.

Suspensions and injuries have Stephen Azzopardi, the Birkirkara coach, contemplating further changes to his formation.

Mark Anthony Bonnici and George Mallia are ineligible to play after they received a one-match ban, Roderick Briffa and Antoine Zahra are sidelined with groin injuries and there are doubts about the fitness of Haruna Doda and Chucks Nwoko.

Goalkeeper Justin Haber has complained of a slight injury after the midweek friendly in southern Spain and Lucian Dronca is down with 'flu but Azzopardi is hoping they will be fit to face the Hotspurs.

"Our fine showing in the Super Five Cup has lifted our spirits," Azzopardi said.

"Pietà are a tough side to play but if we show the same attitude as in our last matches, I believe that our team will prevail. At present, I think that Birkirkara are the most in-form side in the league but now the onus is on our players to maintain this high level of performance."

Two resounding victories over St Patrick and Lija have hauled the Hotspurs out of the 'red zone' but their path to a top-six finish is still fraught with potential pitfalls.

Georgi Deanov, the Pietà coach, is expected to field his best formation as David Camenzuli has recovered from an ankle problem and Gareth Sciberras has recently returned from a long-term injury.

Deanov, who has yet to get the best out of his players, is likely to have devoted extra attention to pepping up his team's confidence after Pietà suffered an early KO in the FA Trophy at the hands of Valletta last Sunday.

Saviour Darmanin, arguably Pietà's best player in that 2-1 defeat, has issued a rallying call to his team.

"Victories over St Patrick and Lija have improved our position in the standings but we must now start to pick up the points against the other teams to highlight our credentials as genuine candidates for the Championship Pool," Darmanin said.

"Our results against the leading teams and the others who like us are challenging for a place in the top pool have not been positive but now there is no room for error."

First round - Birkirkara vs Pietà Hotspurs 1-1.

Tomorrow's match

Msida SJ vs Hibs (tomorrow at 7 p.m., Centenary Stadium).

Hibernians' chief priority for their clash with Msida is to virtually ensure their presence among the top six after two victories on the run took them to fourth in the standings on 20 points.

Robert Gatt, the Hibs coach, cannot bank on the attacking prowess of Nigerian Ndubisi Chukunyere who does not play on artificial turf.

Terence Scerri has not trained regularly of late due to injury and is ranked doubtful. There are also doubts about Andrè Schembri who has served his one-match ban in the 4-2 victory over Birkirkara but was left out of the squad for the Super Five Cup matches because of differences with the club.

Mario Petrone, the Msida coach, is grappling with a long injury list that includes no fewer than five regular players in the team - Kevin Sammut, Daniel Nwoke, Roderick Bajada, Charles Sciberras and Johann Zammit.

First round - Hibs vs Msida 1-1.

Standings