Malta's four European hopefuls are aiming to step up preparations for their commitments in the Champions League and Europa League when they take part in the Euro Cup kicking off this evening at the Centenary Stadium.
The 7 p.m. curtain-raiser between Sliema and Birkirkara will be followed by the clash between champions Hibernians and runners-up Valletta at 9 p.m.
Although the main objective of the Euro Cup is to aid teams' preparations for European competitions, the fans are drawn to this pre-season tournament by the prospect of casting their eyes on new signings and potential recruits.
There will be no shortage of newcomers on view during this week's competition as Sliema are set to parade three, possibly four, new signings while Valletta will field three new foreign players, including Jordi Cruyff, the former Barcelona and Manchester United winger.
Ton Caanen will be presiding over his first match as Valletta coach after the Dutchman was named as Paul Zammit's successor 10 days ago.
Zammit has been appointed coach of Birkirkara but he will take charge of the team today week.
John Buttigieg, Birkirkara's coach for the last three seasons, has agreed to oversee the team's training until the end of this week and will therefore be in charge of the Stripes for the Euro Cup.
Birkirkara have a number of Slovakian players on trial and these are expected to be in their squad as guest players today.
The Stripes have not renewed the contracts of the three Bulgarians they had for the second part of last season, namely Ivalio Sokolov, Kiril Mihaylov-Dimitrov and Krasen Valkov, while Malta striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza has joined Sliema Wanderers.
Mifsud Triganza reported for his first training session with Sliema yesterday and could earn a place in the squad today if the Blues complete his transfer paperwork in time.
New signings Clayton Failla, Josef Mifsud and Ryan Fenech are expected to make their first appearance in a Sliema shirt this evening. Six foreign players have been training with the Blues on a trial basis but none of them has been offered a contract so far.
It is believed that two Serbian players have left a positive impression on Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi but the latter wants more time to further assess their qualities.
Today's second match will mark Hibs' first outing since they drew 0-0 with Valletta in their final league match to secure the title. It will also be the Paolites' first match since Failla moved to Sliema.
Having confirmed Rumen Galabov and Christian Callejas for next season, Hibs are looking to engage another foreigner to replace Zeferino Soares Borges.
Coach Mark Miller is keen to use this week's warm-up matches to run the rule over two Dutch forwards and one from Serbia who are currently on trial with the champions.
Ryan Camilleri is expected to make his debut for Hibs today after he completed his move from Pietà Hotspurs on Saturday.
A new season brings fresh hope and that is certainly true for the Valletta faithful who have been flocking to the Salinos Ground to watch their team's pre-season training sessions under new coach Caanen.
The Dutchman is expected to name Cruyff in his starting team today while forwards Sendley Bito and Leon Kantelberg, both from the Netherlands Antilles, are also likely to be in the 18-man squad.
Meanwhile, the MFA announced at the weekend that tickets for today's Euro Cup matches and those on Wednesday are to be purchased from the participating clubs.
There will be no sale of tickets at the Centenary Stadium.
Programme
Today - 7 p.m. Birkirkara vs Sliema Wanderers; 9 p.m. Hibernians vs Valletta.
Wednesday - 7 p.m. Sliema vs Hibs; 9 p.m. Valletta vs Birkirkara.
Friday - Birkirkara vs Hibs; Sliema vs Valletta.