Mark Miller is challenging his players to show their true mettle as Valletta open a hectic week with a tense derby against Floriana at the National Stadium tomorrow (kick-off, 4pm).

After a rather shaky start to their Premier League trek, the Citizens have turned on the style in recent weeks as they embarked on an impressive run of five wins and a draw that propelled the team to second place in the Premier League standings, just one point adrift of joint-leaders Hibernians and Birkirkara.

Encouraged by his team’s recent showings, Miller is urging his players to keep up the momentum and bag a morale-boosting victory ahead of next Wednesday’s clash against Hibernians.

“Derbies are always special matches,” Miller told Times of Malta yesterday.

“We are warming up for a very important week during which we will be playing three matches. First up is the derby and in midweek we play Hibs before completing the cycle against Qormi.

“It’s in situtations like this that the real character of the team emerges. If the players show the same kind of desire and motivation of recent weeks we have a very good chance of reaching our target and pick nine points.”

The Valletta coach is unable to field his strongest formation as defender Luke Dimech is hampered with ankle trouble, joining Hamza Barry and Ian Azzopardi on the sidelines.

New signing Lateef Elford-Alliyu will also skip the match with a pulled hamstring.

Floriana are no longer a major force in the local game these days but Miller is still wary of the threat posed by his impending opponents and is expecting a tougher match than the first-round clash which the Citizens won 3-0.

“I’m expecting a different Floriana,” Miller admitted.

“They may have endured a difficult start but the team has shown remarkable improvement. Val-letta, however, have grown as a team in recent weeks, too.

“Although there are some regular players missing, we still have enough strength in depth to complete the job.

“The three points are the most important issue at this stage and I’m confident that we can stretch our winning run with another victory on Sunday (tomorrow).”

Floriana are seventh in the standings but their position does not give a real picture of the team’s current form.

In recent weeks, Ian Dawes’s Greens have shown great consistency and with only one defeat from their last six outings the team has put themselves in the running for a top-six place... a remarkable feat for a team that started the season with six penalty points.

Dawes admits that Floriana will start as underdogs but is still backing his team to surprise the favourites.

“It’s going to be a very difficult match,” Dawes said.

“I think, Valletta have the strongest squad in the league.

“It’s a huge challenge but if we stick to our tactical plan Floriana can cause Valletta a few problems.

“In the last two matches we recorded clean sheets and on Sunday (tomorrow) it will be crucial to close the gaps as Valletta will punish us for the slightest mistake we may commit.”

The Greens are currently engaged in a mid-table tussle, involving various teams for a place in the Championship Pool.

After the derby they will be involved in three key matches which will have a huge say on their top-six challenge.

Dawes says a positive result tomorrow would be a shot in the arm for the Greens’ aspirations.

“December is a big month. Besides this match against Valletta, we have to play Tarxien, Vittoriosa and Rabat. A good run could see us in a strong position for a top-six berth,” Dawes said.

“There’s a lot of confidence inside the players at the moment and a positive result in the derby will give the team added confidence ahead of these fixtures which could define our season.”

Dawes will surely make two changes to his starting formation tomorrow as Jonathan Xerri is out with a knee injury while Sacha Borg is recovering from a muscle strain.

First round: Valletta vs Floriana 3-0.

Teruel and Ramon leave Stars, Gabriel joins Qormi

Naxxar Lions vs Sliema Wanderers (today 2pm, Hibs Stadium).

Sliema will be looking to stay in touch with the front-runners by beating Naxxar Lions.

The Wanderers are currently five points adrift of joint-leaders Hibs and Birkirkara and coach Alfonso Greco is boosted by the return of veteran striker Ivan Woods who has recovered from hamstring trouble.

Midfielder Mark Scerri must serve his first of a two-match ban while Aboubakar Bello-Osagie is still not fully fit. Stanley Ohawuchi is nearing full fitness but is likely to return for next Tuesday’s clash against Birkirkara.

Naxxar will have defender Evaldo and midfielder Andrew Decesare back from suspension but Kurt Drago and Louis Cutajar are still unavailable.

First round: Sliema Wanderers vs Naxxar Lions 2-0.

Balzan vs Birkirkara (today 4pm, Hibs Stadium).

Birkirkara face a tricky task to maintain their winning run when they take on neighbours Balzan.

Five successive victories have propelled the Stripes to the top of the standings but coach Paul Zammit will be wary of the threat posed by Balzan who in the last few weeks have stepped up their push for a place in the Champion-ship Pool.

Birkirkara will be without Brazilian defender Matheus Bissi who is undergoing rehabilitation in Portugal after damaging his right quadriceps muscle.

Jesmond Zerafa, the Balzan coach, is set to stick with the team that beat Vittoriosa 2-1 in their last league outing as goalkeeper Daniel Martinez, midfielder Firas Aboulezz and striker Mark Spiteri are still injured.

First round: Birkirkara vs Balzan 2-1.

Hibernians vs Vittoriosa Stars (today 2pm, Tedesco Stadium).

After their shock defeat to Tarxien, Hibernians will be determined to return to winning ways and they start favourites to beat strugglers Vittoriosa Stars.

Hibs coach Branko Nisevic is expecting a strong response from his players after the upset in the derby.

Midfielder Bjorn Kristensen must serve suspension but otherwise the Paolites can bank on a full squad.

Vittoriosa coach Oliver Spiteri had a tough build-up to this match as earlier this week the club released Brazilian duo Marcio Teruel and Ramon Dos Santos.

Two new foreigners are ex-pected to arrive next week for a trial. Sheldon Grech, Roberto Brincat and Luke Vella Critien are still nursing injuries.

First round: Vittoriosa Stars vs Hibernians 2-5.

Mosta vs Rabat Ajax (today 4.15pm, Tedesco Stadium).

Mosta will fancy their chances of strengthening their bid for a top-six place as they play bottom-placed Rabat this afternoon.

The fifth-placed Blues will have Jonas Ekani, Ryan Grech and Armando available as coach Danilo Doncic has an almost full squad to rely on with striker Diego Pereira being the only player on the injury list.

Steve D’Amato, the Rabat coach, also has some key personnel back as Spanish duo Diego Carrillo Pendas and Daniel Pelaez, along with Shaun Gauci, return from suspension while Jonathan Bajada and Joseph Caruana are now 100 per cent fit.

Ryan Micallef misses out through suspension. Goalkeeper Pavle Velimirovic, Adam Smeir, Josef Tonna and Adam Smeir are out injured.

First round: Rabat vs Mosta 0-3.

Qormi vs Tarxien (tomorrow 2pm, National Stadium).

Qormi are expected to hand a debut to new Brazilian signing Gabriel tomorrow as the former Valletta midfielder will be making a return to the Premier League after signing a deal until the end of the season.

Qormi, second bottom with only eight points, are trying to strengthen their squad and this week they have also agreed terms with Issaka Aboudulai, a Ghana striker who holds a Belgian passport.

However, Qormi are still waiting for the necessary paperwork before completing Aboudulai’s registration.

Defender Duncan Pisani and Giuseppe Bellucci are out to serve serve suspension.

Rainbows coach Clive Mizzi is expected to make two changes from the team that beat Hibernians 1-0 last week as defenders Fernando Lopez and Luca Martinelli must also serve a one-match ban.

First round: Tarxien Rainbows vs Qormi 2-6.