Buoyed by their flawless start to the season, Birkirkara will fancy their chances of recording a fifth straight victory when they take on Sliema Wanderers in today’s second match at the Tedesco Stadium (kick-off 7.15 p.m.).
The two teams come into their first-round meeting on the back of contrasting results last weekend.
While Birkirkara served up further notice of their potential to challenge for the title with a 3-0 dismissal of Floriana, courtesy of a hat-trick from in-form Brazilian striker Jhonnattann, Sliema’s early woes continued as they suffered their second defeat in a row, a 2-1 loss to Qormi.
Birkirkara may be everyone’s favourites to see off Sliema but coach Paul Zammit preached caution.
“Although Sliema are coming from two negative results, they have a valid squad,” Zammit said.
“They haven’t shown their true potential so far. We must be very careful as we’re facing a team that will be determined to prove them-selves.
“It will be a difficult match because Sliema will fight hard for the points.”
Birkirkara’s perfect start has inevitably enhanced their con-fidence but Zammit warned of the pitfalls awaiting his team if they drop their guard.
“We have played four games and we’ve had different tests. True, we have won all our matches but this is a tricky moment, es-pecially if we think that we’ve already achieved something,” Zammit said.
“If we play at 99 per cent of our level, we will fail. We just have to keep playing to the maximum of our abilities.”
The Stripes will be without midfielder Ryan Scicluna who has a minor foot problem. Brazilian forward Joselito has yet to fully shake off an ankle knock but could be named in the squad.
After seeing his team throw away a one-goal lead in their defeat to Qormi, Sliema coach Alfonso Greco is demanding a reaction.
“That is the least I expect from my team,” Greco said of Sliema’s need to improve on their up-and-down performance against Qormi.
“We must raise our game against a strong Birkirkara team. I expect a reaction from my players.”
Midfielder Mark Scerri is out after twisting his ankle in last Saturday’s game but otherwise Greco can bank on a full squad.
He believes that his players must learn to approach games with the right atittude.
“In training this season, I’ve worked a lot on the psychological aspect,” the Italian said.
“Against Qormi, we thought that the match was over after we scored an early goal and there was a collective decline thereafter. Besides that, we’re still looking to find the right balance in our team.”
Qormi’s second goal, scored by Abubakar Bello-Osagie, stemmed from a glaring misunderstanding between goalkeeper Henry Bonello and defender Josef Mifsud but Greco insisted that the whole squad must take responsibility for their disappointments of late.
“Those are individual mistakes but for me it’s a question of how we can raise the standards of the entire squad,” Greco said.
Mosta suffer Bogdanovic injury blow
Floriana vs Rabat Ajax (today 5 p.m., Tedesco Stadium).
Floriana and Rabat Ajax will be looking to bounce back after both suffered identical 3-0 defeats last weekend.
The Greens have five points from their first four games while Rabat, with only one point to their credit, are still seeking their first win since returning to the Premier League.
For the second match in a row, Floriana will be under the charge of assistant coach Alan Lewer as head coach Mark Wright is still in England for personal reasons.
Lewer is hopeful that Tyrone Farrugia (calf), Duncan Pisani (calf) and Owen Bugeja (hamstring) recover in time to play against the Magpies.
Nerijus Astrauskas, Rabat’s Lithuanian striker, is out of the equation as he must serve the second of a two-match ban.
Yan Cauchi is doubtful because of a groin problem.
Balzan FC vs Hibernians (tomorrow 5 p.m., National Stadium).
With maximum points from their opening four games, Hibs are widely expected to make it five wins in a row when they meet Balzan.
Malta wing-back Clayton Failla is serving a doping suspension but otherwise Hibs coach Michael Woods has a full squad at his disposal.
Balzan slumped to their third defeat of the season on Monday after losing 2-1 to Tarxien Rainbows. The Reds have lost arguably their most influential player for this match after Brazilian forward Pedrinho was handed a one-match suspension because of four yellow cards.
Jonathan Francica is still unavailable and Renato Con-ceicao is an injury doubt.
Mosta vs Qormi (tomorrow 7 p.m., National Stadium).
Both teams are on a high after winning their last encounter.
Qormi came from behind to beat Sliema Wanderers 2-1 while Mosta made it back-to-back wins with an easy 4-1 victory over Ħamrun Spartans.
Mosta have suffered a setback, though, with the news that Daniel Bogdanovic could be sidelined for up to a month after fracturing a bone in his foot.
Bogdanovic’s injury all but rules him out of Malta’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic next month.
Alex Cini will also miss this match because of injury while Malta defender Luke Dimech is doubtful as he has been unwell during the week.
Midfielder Ryan Grech returns from suspension.
Stephen Azzopardi, the Qormi coach, is expected to confirm the team he picked for last weekend’s match against Sliema.
Midfielder Triston Caruana is still recuperating from a cartilage operation.
Tarxien Rainbows vs Melita (Monday 6 p.m., National Stadium).
Tarxien are targeting their second win of the season but Melita will be no pushovers.
The Amateurs gave a good account of themselves in the first hour of their clash with champions Valletta only to unravel in the final stages, especially after the dismissal of Jovan Vukanic.
Vukanic is out of Monday’s match but otherwise, coach Martin Gregory can bank on a full squad. Michael Martin and George Gribbon are set to return for Melita.
Clive Mizzi, the Tarxien coach, is concerned about the fitness of Brazilian defender Evaldo who has a knee problem.
Brazilian midfielder Luiz Romulo De Castro and Manuel Caruana are likely to make the Tarxien squad after making good progress in their recovery from injuries.
Ħamrun Spartans vs Valletta (Monday ay 8 p.m., National Stadium).
After their fleeting visit to Libya in midweek, Valletta have turned their focus back to the defence of their title and their impending clash with Ħamrun Spartans.
Coach Mark Miller included a number of fringe players in his starting formation for Wed-nesday’s friendly against Al Ahly, who won 4-3, but he’s expected to revert to a more familiar line-up on Monday.
Gabriel is a doubt after picking up a knock against Al Ahly while Ricardo played no part in the friendly as he was unfit.
Ħamrun failed to raise their morale ahead of their meeting with Valletta after their lethargic display in the 4-1 loss to Mosta on Monday.
Bulgarian flank defender Angel Yoshev’s one-match rules him out for the Spartans.
Coach Stefan Sultana is monitoring the fitness of Roderick Fenech after the defender picked up a minor injury during training with the national squad.
Fenech, Justin Grioli and Terence Vella trained with the Malta squad on a trial basis this week.
Striker Terrence Scerri is sidelined with a cruciate injury.
Spartans keeper Andrea Cassar is in line to return after seeing out his one-match ban.