Wanderers seek to turn up the heat on title rivals

Sliema Wanderers, the Premier League early pace-setters, will seek to turn up the heat on Birkirkara and Valletta by extending their lead to seven points this evening.

Edward Aquilina's team take on Mosta at the Centenary Stadium (kick-off 7.30 p.m.) in the knowledge that a victory would temporarily give them a seven-point cushion at the summit ahead of the matches involving Valletta and Birkirkara tomorrow afternoon at the National Stadium.

On paper, both Birkirkara and Valletta face tough matches tomorrow against Floriana and champions Hibernians respectively.

Sliema, relieved to emerge with three points from their derby against Floriana last Saturday courtesy of an injury-time strike by substitute midfielder Rupert Mangion, will be without defender Chris Okoh. Striker Nenad Veselji is expected to be fit after missing the Floriana game.

Although Sliema are widely tipped to maintain their winning sequence against Mosta, the latter's fightback in their 2-2 draw with Hibernians last Sunday should have galvanised their self-belief going into the match against the leaders.

However, Mosta's build-up to this match was overshadowed by news of the imminent resignation of their president Charles Abela and the two club vice-presidents. In a statement posted on the club's official website www.mostafc.com, president Abela announced his decision to step down by not later than the end of the current season. Abela also said that vice-presidents Michael Attard and Charles Pace will also be quitting their posts.

Contacted by The Times, Abela, the Mosta president, said his decision to announce his resignation was prompted by several factors.

"The reasons which have led me to make this decision are diverse. Furthermore, I also felt that, in the current circumstances, the level of progress I had projected for Mosta FC, would not be possible to achieve," Abela said.

For this evening's encounter against Sliema, Mosta coach Vince Carbonaro must cope without Brazilian striker Jura, who has been banned for one match.

Paul Zammit and Mario Abela are still recovering from injuries while veteran midfielder Albert Busuttil may miss out as he has not trained regularly this week.