Riding a wave of optimism after four wins on the run, Valletta are fancied to extend their positive streak when they meet struggling Balzan at the Tedesco Stadium, tomorrow (kick-off 16.15).
Valletta have looked rejuvenated since a 1-0 defeat to Birkir-kara threatened to plunge the team into crisis but coach Mark Miller is not entirely happy as he wants his team to be more ruthless up front.
“I’m happy but I’m never satisfied,” Miller told Times of Malta.
“We’re still making hard work of beating the smaller teams, without taking anything away from them.
“There has been an improvement but we can be more deadly in front of goal. To be fair, all teams are struggling to win but you are always looking to get better and play fluid football.”
With Balzan coming from back-to-back defeats, Miller expects his opponents to opt for a prudent game but he believes that Valletta have the knowhow to overcome defensive-minded teams.
“Tarxien also had a bad run before their game against us,” Miller said.
“We’ve played one or two teams who have been in this same position. They will be lacking in confidence and they will try to be compact and make things difficult for us.
“We’re expecting a tough game but we can deal with it.”
Miller revealed that Valletta have parted with Brazilian striker Romulo Antoneli and, with Gambian midfielder Hamza Barry sidelined with knee trouble, he will only have four foreign players at his disposal tomorrow.
“Romulo is back in Brazil and Hamza out injured, so we only have four foreigners,” Miller said.
“We’ll be looking at others in the coming months but at this moment in time, we are relying a lot on our local players. When you’re winning, everything is okay but we have to make sure that we don’t get complacent.”
Apart from Barry, left-back Ian Azzopardi is still out but Dyson Falzon is in line to return after recovering from a slight injury. Defender Steve Borg is also back in the fray, having made his first appearance in almost a year after coming on as a substitute in the Tarxien win.
Valletta have signed Raheem Bakare on a short-term deal but, at the time of writing, the club had not received the Nigerian’s inter-national transfer document.
Bakare was brought to Malta by Birkirkara but failed to secure a contract with the champions after a long trial.
Balzan have not had much to smile about in the last few weeks as injuries and suspensions took their toll in defeats to Naxxar and Hibernians.
Their chances of ending their winless run against the Citizens look remote but Balzan will be hoping that coach Jesmond Zerafa, who guided Valletta to two champion-ships, will use his knowledge of his opponents to devise an effective strategy.
“We all know about Valletta’s strength,” Zerafa, who took over the reins of Balzan last month, said.
“We’re coming from two successive defeats but the team’s performances were generally good on both occasions.
“We had two players sent off against Naxxar and had several others missing against Hibs.
“I believe that we’re improving gradually. In January, we will look to make some changes in the squad but in the meantime we have to keep working hard and pick up more points.”
Zerafa is hoping to coax a disciplined performance from his team tomorrow.
“Our aim is to get something from the match,” Zerafa said.
“We have to start recouping some of the points we lost in the last few games but we know this will be a difficult match. That said, football is such a fantastic game because anything can happen and a bold performance from us would boost our chances of taking something from the match.”
Balzan have moved to increase their goalkeeping options this week with the signing of a Brazilian keeper who was training with Division One side Żebbuġ Rangers.
Last week, Balzan re-signed Matthew Camilleri but the deal fell through after the Malta FA rejected the veteran goalkeeper’s regist-ration as, under FIFA rules, a player can’t register twice with the same club in the same season.
Michael Falzon, who deputised for the injured Daniel Martinez in the Naxxar game, is back from suspension along with right-back Justin Grioli.
Midfielder Firas Aboulezz is set to return after a two-match ban and an ankle problem forced him to miss Balzan’s last four matches.
Brazilian defender Rodrigo Pereira and Aaron Agius are still sidelined with injuries while winger Mark Spiteri is doubtful.
Leaders Hibs face tricky Naxxar test
Birkirkara vs Vittoriosa Stars (today 14.00, Centenary Stadium).
Champions Birkirkara will fancy their chances of bagging a fourth win on the trot when they take on a Vittoriosa Stars side that have not tasted success in their last four outings.
Coach Paul Zammit will warn his players against underestimating their struggling opponents as the Stripes look to keep the pace with leaders Hibs and second-placed Valletta.
Gareth Sciberras, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, is Birkirkara’s only major absentee.
Vittoriosa will have various first teamers, the likes of Luke Vella Critien, Gilbert Martin, Sheldon Grech, Adam Spiteri and Jean Mathias Vella, all out with injury while Michael Camilleri must serve a one-match ban.
Marcio Teruel, who picked up a knock in his team’s 1-1 draw against Naxxar, could be available for the Stars this afternoon.
Hibernians vs Naxxar Lions (today 14.00, Tedesco Stadium).
Leaders Hibernians will be wary of the challenge posed by a Naxxar Lions team who have impressed on their return to the Premier League, taking 14 points from their opening 10 games.
Both teams have some first-choice players missing.
Hibs must cope without midfielders Zoran Levnaic and Johann Bezzina who are struggling with abdominal injuries.
Brazilian defender Rodolfo Soares is expected to get the all-clear to start after recuperating from a back problem while reserve goalkeeper Juergen Borg is also available after recovering from an elbow injury.
Naxxar have lost Mattia Del Negro and Angus Buhagiar to suspension. Striker Terrence Scerri has not completely recovered from a hamstring strain but may be in the squad.
Brazilian forward Gilmar will undergo a late fitness test but Andre Rocha Da Silva and Daren Falzon are back to full fitness.
Floriana vs Qormi (today Centenary Stadium, 16.15).
Floriana and Qormi will be all out for maximum spoils to improve their lowly position in the standings.
The Greens went down 3-1 to Birkirkara in their last outing and Qormi disappointed in a goalless draw with Rabat Ajax.
Ian Dawes, the Floriana coach, must be relieved to have all his defenders available for this match. Ibok Edet and utility man Gary Roberts are back from suspension while Sunday Eboh is pushing for a first-team recall after recovering from injury.
Dawes’s only concern is Joseph Borg who only has a 50-50 chance of playing today after picking up a thigh strain against Birkirkara.
Qormi coach Tommaso Volpi can’t bank on Brazilian forward Jorginho who could miss the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate ligaments.
Otherwise, Volpi has no selection problems.
Sliema Wanderers vs Rabat Ajax (today Tedesco Stadium, 16.15).
Sliema Wanderers cannot miss the three points after their unexpected slip-up to Mosta last weekend. Rabat, however, may be lurking near the foot of the table but they’ve shown signs of improvement lately, taking four points from their last three games.
Sliema coach Alfonso Greco is again set to be without his chief goalscorer Stanley Ohawuchi. He is still nursing a hamstring injury while Ivan Woods is also recovering from a knee injury.
Rabat are plagued by a long list of absentees.
Shaun Gauci and Clifford Gauci are ruled out with suspension while Adam Smeir, Joseph Caruana, Ryan Micallef and reserve goalkeeper Andrew Zammit are all injured.
D’Amato also has injury doubts over goalkeeper Pavle Velimirovic, who missed the 0-0 draw against Qormi with a wrist injury, and midfielder Dani Pelaez.
Mosta vs Tarxien Rainbows (tomorrow 14.00, Tedesco Stadium).
Mosta are in high spirits after ending their winless run with a 3-2 defeat of Sliema but not the same can be said of Tarxien whose 3-0 loss to Valletta was their third in a row.
Danilo Doncic, the Mosta coach, has no fresh injury worries as he can bank on the same players who featured in the victory over Sliema. Striker Diego Pereira and midfielder Ryan Grech are still sidelined with injury.
Tarxien goalkeeper Nicky Vella is out to serve suspension following the red card he incurred against Valletta.
Carlo Mamo is also expected to miss out as he’s still recovering from an abdominal injury. Steve Sadowski and Manuel Caruana are also doubtful with hamstring strains.