Champions Hibernians will look to chalk up their first win of the season when they take on Floriana tonight.

Last week, the Paolites were pegged back by Balzan at the death in a one-all draw so Branko Nisevic’s men will be keen to beat Floriana as they look to emulate last season’s consistent run that led them to an 11th league title.

Nisevic has no selection worries and is expected to have the same group of players that featured in the last match with the exception of Johann Bezzina who has been loaned out to Sliema Wanderers.

Floriana coach Luis Oliveira is at full strength and he can also bank on striker Matteo Piciollo.

The Italian returned to the Greens fold this week after bringing to an end a short loan spell at Lega Pro side ASD Lupa Castelli.

Birkirkara have also bolstered their striking options with the return of striker Liliu as they look to make it two wins in a row against Tarxien Rainbows this evening.

Last month, Liliu said he was parting ways with Birkirkara after deciding on a move to a club in the Hungarian league.

However, the transfer collapsed and Brazilian Liliu is now back at Birkirkara to honour his contract which expires at the end of the season.

Liliu will further boost the re-sources available for coach Giovanni Tedesco who is looking to build on last week’s 4-0 win over Naxxar Lions with another strong showing against Tarxien.

However, Tedesco will be wary of the threat Tarxien could pose. Last week, the Rainbows upset the more-quoted Sliema Wanderers 2-0 in the season opener.

This week Tarxien also added reinforcements to Jacques Scerri’s squad when acquiring the services of striker Luke Montebello, on loan from Valletta, and Nigerian defender Ebiabowei Baker.

This evening, Balzan will fancy their chances of their first league win of the season when they play Naxxar.

The Reds are in high spirits after showing great resilience against Hibs and coach Oliver Spiteri is now optimistic his players can build on that performance by taking their first three points against a Lions side that failed to deliver in their first showing of the season.

Naxxar newcomers

After the 4-0 upset to Birkirkara, Naxxar have brought in two new foreigners – Serbians Rajo Vlasovic, a defender, and forward Sejad Hadzidulic.

Benin striker Oussou Sidoine is also set for his Lions debut after his registration papers were filed at the MFA earlier this week.

Pembroke and St Andrew’s, the two promoted teams, clash in tomorrow’s opening match at the National Stadium.

Pembroke started the league trek on a high after beating Qormi 2-1 but St Andrew’s will have to forget their previous match as they came a cropper against the more-quoted Valletta and lost 3-0.

Pembroke yesterday signed winger Leighton Grech on a year-long loan from Qormi while the Saints are still without the injured Kieran Nwoko.

Mosta vs Qormi brings the weekend programme to a close.

Mosta coach Ivan Zammit was delighted to see his team fight back for a 2-1 win over Floriana.

He could be tempted to give James Brincat a starting berth after his lively display when coming on as a second-half substitute.

Brincat scored the equaliser before Saviour Fidelis hit the winner for Zammit’s Mosta.

Administrative problems are threatening to derail Qormi’s challenge in the Premier League this season. This week, they also lost midfielder Albert Bruce (Valletta) and Grech (Pembroke) but de-fender Emerson Vella decided to stay and signed a new contract.

Striker Alex Nilsson should be available for the match against Mosta but Ryan Micallef, another forward, is likely to miss out with knee trouble.

Programme

Playing today
Hibs Stadium: 18.30 Naxxar Lions vs Balzan. 20.30 Hibs vs Floriana.
National Stadium: 18.30 Tarxien Rainbows vs Birkirkara. 20.30 Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers.

Tomorrow
Tedesco Stadium: 18.30 Pembroke vs St Andrew’s. 20.45 Mosta vs Qormi.