A potentially crucial weekend in the 2015/16 BOV Premier League kicks off this evening when relegation strugglers Naxxar Lions take on Pembroke Athleta at the National Stadium.
This fixture was meant to precede the much-anticipated clash between title chasers Valletta and Floriana but, at the request of the police, the derby has been switched to tomorrow afternoon.
The Valletta-Floriana duel is not the only derby on this weekend’s agenda as on Sunday, Hibs, currently six points adrift of Valletta, lock horns with Tarxien Rainbows in another fixture that could have a bearing on the title race.
While much of the attention is inevitably centred on the championship battle, the focus will be on the relegation issue this evening as Naxxar Lions will be chasing a second straight win to further boost their chances of avoiding the drop.
Until last Saturday, the Lions looked down and out but a 2-1 victory in the derby against Mosta has injected life into their survival bid as they are now third from bottom, three points ahead of St Andrew’s and five ahead of Qormi.
The bottom two teams will be automatically relegated while the third-from-last will face the third-placed side in Division One in an end-of-season relegation/promotion play-off.
No doubt, Clive Mizzi, the Naxxar Lions coach, is targeting a repeat of the gutsy performance that enabled his team to topple Mosta last Saturday courtesy of goals from Edu Vallecillo and David Fenech.
Mizzi is unlikely to make significant changes from the Mosta game but Senegalese striker Demba Toure, who came on as a second-half substitute last weekend, is suspended and defender Ishmael Grech is sidelined with injury.
Pembroke Athleta are not in relegation trouble but they are widely expected to go all out to take the three points today as victory would secure their Premier League status.
The Reds, who have a perfect two-out-two record against Naxxar Lions this season, will also be looking to get back to winning ways as they have not tasted victory since beating Qormi 3-1 on March 2.
Leighton Grech and Patmore Shereni are still injured for Pembroke but otherwise coach Winston Muscat can bank on a full complement.
Previous results: Pembroke vs Naxxar Lions 5-1, 2-0.
Programme
Today: (National Stadium) 18.00 Naxxar Lions vs Pembroke Athleta.
Tomorrow: (National Stadium) 14.30 Floriana vs Valletta. (Hibs Stadium) 16.00 Sliema Wanderers vs Mosta; 18.00 Qormi vs Balzan.
Sunday: (National Stadium) 16.00 St Andrew’s vs Birkirkara; 18.00 Tarxien Rainbows vs Hibernians.
Division One fixtures
Today: (Centenary Stadium) 19.30 Vittoriosa Stars vs Lija Athletic.
Tomorrow: (Centenary Stadium) 16.00 Senglea Athletic vs Rabat Ajax; 18.15 Żebbuġ Rangers vs Pietà Hotspurs.
Sunday: (Centenary Stadium) 16.00 Gudja United vs St George’s; 18.15 Gżira United vs Fgura United. (Tedesco Stadium) 16.00 San Ġwann vs Mqabba; 18.15 Ħamrun Spartans vs Melita.