Mosta’s Manolito Micallef (left) tries to stop Abdelkarim Nafti, of Valletta, from advancing during a league match last season.

Local football followers will be imbued with an increased sense of anticipation this weekend as the 2014-15 BOV Premier League gets underway with the opening round of matches between today and tomorrow.

This year’s competition has a new format which scraps the Championship and Relegation Pools and sees all 12 teams playing each other three times with points halved at the end of the second round.

Champions Valletta will get their title defence going tomorrow with a tough test against Mosta (kick-off: 20.30).

The Blues are keen to build on last year’s bold showing which saw them break into the top four for the first time.

Last year, Valletta opened their campaign with a laboured 2-1 win over Mosta and this time things may turn out to be equally difficult for the Lilywhites.

They come into this match in search of their first competitive victory in the new season following back-to-back upsets to Azeri team FC Qarabag in the Champions League and a 2-1 defeat to Birkirkara in last week’s Super Cup.

Coach Gilbert Agius admitted his players were still finding their feet but is expecting a strong response from them against Mosta.

“This has been a summer of transition for us,” Agius told Times of Malta yesterday.

“In the close season we had some players who left the club so we tried to bring in valid replacements but they all need time to settle down.

“During pre-season training, we tried to adopt a different module and the players responded well to our plans and to where we want to see this team go this season.

“Results were not what we had expected but we have to stay calm. There is great belief in this group of players and they have a desire to start winning matches soon.”

Agius has a few selection problems to deal with as he has four key players struggling with injury.

Luke Dimech, Ian Azzopardi and Jonathan Caruana will undergo a late fitness test to determine whether they will be available tomorrow while Roderick Briffa is still recovering from a knee injury.

Valletta are still seeking reinforcements to their squad and in midweek Guinea winger Baruc Nsue started a trial and more overseas players are due to arrive next week.

Mosta had a positive pre-season as Enrico Piccioni’s team reached the final of the Malta Summer Cup and then travelled to Serbia for a short training camp during which they figured in a series of useful friendlies.

This week Mosta added two Serbian players to their squad – midfielder Nemanja Milovanovic and striker Sosa Jovanovic.

Skipper Manolito Micallef said Mosta will be all out to demonstrate that their showing in the league last season was no flash in the pan.

“The 2013-14 Premier League was a memorable one for the club and now we think we’re good enough to continue on what we’ve started last year,” Micallef said.

“A match against the champions is never easy but our training in the pre-season has gone pretty well and we should be up to the task.

“Although we lost a couple of players from last season, the committee added some valuable reinforcements and it looks like we have a more competitive squad.

“We know it will be difficult to improve on last year’s position but this team is determined and we want to prove ourselves with a positive result in our opening match.”

Against Valletta, Piccioni will be without Pedrinho, a close-season signing from Bal-zan, and Ekani Rodriguez.

The two midfielders are both suspended.