Valletta-Qormi clash to kick off an hour earlier

Kick-off time for the eagerly-awaited match between Valletta and Qormi has been brought forward to 3 p.m. after the Malta FA decided to hold only one Premier League match on Saturday.

Birkirkara and Hibs had been scheduled to lift the curtains on Saturday's programme but the prospect of having the fans of four potential title contenders gathering at the National Stadium on the same afternoon prompted the Malta FA to tweak the sequence of fixtures.

The match between Birkirkara and Hibs has been switched to Monday at 7.30 p.m., thus leaving the Valletta-Qormi encounter as the only fixture for Saturday.

Qormi midfielder Keith Fenech and Hibs' forward Etienne Barbara will play no part in their teams' next matches after both were red-carded following an off-the-ball incident during Friday's thrilling 2-2 draw.

Fenech has been hit by a three-match ban, two for unsporting behaviour and one for four yellow cards, while Barbara, who was dismissed for retaliation, has been suspended for one match.

The Malta FA Disciplinary Commissioner has imposed a two-match ban on David Camilleri. The Tarxien midfielder was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Pedrinho in his side's 4-2 defeat to Sliema last Sunday.

Msida St Joseph will be without two regular players for their game against Tarxien after Tyrone Farrugia and Cedric Sciberras were suspended for one game after both collected their fourth yellow card in the 1-0 loss to Valletta.