San Ġiljan Sir Alex will be seeking inspiration from new coach Sergio Afric as they look to sustain their Premier League title challenge with a victory over Sirens Ritter Sport this evening.

The summer championships resume today at the National Pool following a two-week break due to the national teams’ commitments in international tournaments.

The Malta U-17 team were involved in the Mediterranean Cup in Ostia, Rome, earlier this month and last week the senior national team participated in the second qualifying tournament for the European Championship qualifiers which were played at Tal-Qroqq.

Karl Izzo’s team failed to progress to the next stage of the European Championship after bagging just one win from four matches – an 11-4 win over Israel – that kept them out of a top-six finish in the overall standings.

With Malta’s aspirations of further progress in the LEN tournament now dashed, focus shifts back to the domestic competitions with San Ġiljan determined to keep alive their title aspirations.

Afric, who replaced Izzo as San Ġiljan coach earlier this month, is faced with an arduous task as he looks to keep Saints snapping behind leaders Neptunes Emirates’ heels in the standings.

The league represents San Ġiljan’s only hope of silverware this summer after they bowed out of the knock-out competition at the expense of Sliema Frank Salt Real Estate in the preliminary round.

The Saints are currently trailing Neptunes by six points but Afric’s team have a game in hand.

Victory today is a must for the Saints to keep their interest in the league which they won last in 1995.

In the corresponding first round fixture, San Ġiljan eased to a comfortable 14-9 win over the team from St Paul’s Bay with left-hander Matthew Zammit pro-ducing a top-class perform-ance when netting six goals.

In their last match, Sirens chalked up their first three-pointer this summer after a hard-earned 8-6 win over bottom-placed Exiles Ferretti.

In today’s first match, Valletta United will be looking to go three points clear at the top of the First Division when they take on bottom-placed Marsaxlokk.

The Citizens, currently sharing top spot with Marsaxlokk on 12 points, but with a game in hand, should hold too much firepower for the south seasiders who are still without points after four successive defeats.

In their first round meeting, Valletta beat Marsaxlokk 16-12 with Milos Korolija and Djordje Filipovic having a field-day after netting five goals apiece in a high-scoring encounter.

Playing today
Valletta vs Marsaxlokk - 18.00
Sirens vs San Ġiljan - 19.15

Premier League

Division One