Premier League teams will be aiming to put down an early marker when the 2016/17 top-flight championship gets underway this evening with the first four of the opening six-match programme.
For the first time in more than a decade, teams will embark on a new campaign knowing that a solid start would significantly ameliorate their chances of achieving their objectives as slow-starters will no longer benefit from a late reprieve after clubs finally ditched the anomalous system of halving team points at the end of the second round.
This, and the vastly-improved showings of Maltese clubs in UEFA competitions, have raised optimism of a keenly-contested championship, spread over three rounds.
The relegation issue promises to be less enticing as only the bottom side will go down automatically while the team finishing second-from-last will play off against the fourth-placed team in Division One at the end of the season.
Champions Valletta will surely fancy their chances of defending their crown.
Coach Paul Zammit has reinforced his title-winning squad with the signings of Malta defender Steve Borg, Argentine duo Leandro Aguirre and Santiago Malano plus Lithuanian goalkeeper Dziugas Bartkus.
Optimism is high in the City camp after their lively performances in the Champions League where they gave Red Star a good run for their money after overcoming Faroese champions B36 Torshavn in the first round.
On the other side of the coin, an unexpected 2-0 defeat to Sliema in the final of the pre-season Evolution Cup provided a timely eye-opener for Valletta who face the Blues in their opening league game tonight.
“Over the past year, we’ve overcome many hurdles,” Zammit told the Times of Malta.
“Our championship success and the positive experience in Europe were two big pluses but a new domestic season is about to begin and our objective is to try and defend our title.
“It’s a massive task as reaching the top is tough but staying there is more difficult.
“We are approaching this challenge with humility, knowing that the level of certain teams has gone up, but we also have great belief in our abilities.”
Sliema ended last season on a bright note after securing the FA Trophy.
There have been some significant changes at Sliema since their penalty shoot-out win over Balzan, the most notable being the appointment of former Malta coach John Buttigieg who has replaced Alfonso Greco.
The Blues took a while to get their recruitment drive off the ground but they have taken Argentine midfielder Mathias Muchardi back on board, re-signed striker Jean Paul Farrugia from Hibs and also acquired a trio of foreigners, including Bosnian striker Milos Galin.
Buttigieg will no doubt demand a bold performance from his team against the Citizens as he seeks to mould a strong unit capable of fighting for a top-four finish.
Birkirkara optimistic
• Birkirkara head into the new season amid soaring expectations of a strong title push after their impressive Europa League campaign.
The Stripes became the first Maltese club to reach the third round of a European competition after wins over Bosnia’s NK Siroki Brijeg (3-1) and Scottish club Hearts (2-1). They went out to Russian side Krasnodar (6-1) in the third qualifying round.
Coach Drazen Besek can bank on a balanced squad after bringing in four new foreigners, Serbians Predrag Jovic, a defender, striker Dejan Djordjevic and midfielder Srdan Dimitrov, and Croatian flank defender Bruno Marotti, plus experienced Maltese midfielder Shaun Bajada and youngsters James Brincat and Andreas Vella, a goalkeeper.
Birkirkara kick off their commitments with a match against St Andrew’s.
“Our aim is to make a strong start to the league campaign. It will not be easy because all games are difficult and the opponents will also be determined to show what they can do,” Besek told the Times of Malta.
St Andrew’s, under the charge of coach Josè Borg, will be hoping that their new signings make an instant impact as they look to avoid a repeat of their dismal start last season.
The newcomers in Borg’s squad include striker Ryan Darmanin, midfielders Ivan Edgardo Paz (Argentina) and Nenad Belacevic (Serbia), Liechtenstein winger Daniel Brandle and Croatian defender Ante Bakhmaz.
Miller faces Spartans test
• Hibernians, who were knocked out by Slovakian outfit Spartak Trnava in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, take on newly-promoted Ħamrun Spartans in their league opener today.
Mark Miller, back for a third spell in charge of Hibs, has only made minor adjustments to his squad with Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, Brazilian midfielder Renan Pimenta Telles and Argentine striker Juan Manuel Varea the only notable additions from last season’s squad.
A lack of firepower is Miller’s main concern following the departures of Brazilian forwards Gilmar, Jorginho and Jorge Santos.
There are still question marks over the future of defender Rui Da Gracia Gomes who is likely to be sidelined for another two months after undergoing surgery.
Miller is eyeing a confident start from his team against a Ħamrun Spartans side who are making a return to top-flight football after a lapse of four years.
Premier League survival is the main target for the Spartans who have been quite busy in the transfer market, signing five South Americans plus some experienced Maltese players such as striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, Daren Falzon and Luke Sciberras.
Balzan target title push
• Balzan, fourth last season, are regarded as genuine title challengers after adding more quality to their squad.
They captured a host of foreign players, including Tunisian winger Abdelkarim Nafti, formerly of Valletta, Bosnian forward Borce Manevski and Brazilian duo Bruno, the former Tarxien defender, and midfielder Anderson Francisco de Barros.
Their Europa League campaign was a bittersweet experience as Balzan claimed their first ever win in European competition after beating Azerbaijan’s Neftchi Baku 2-1 away only to go out 3-2 on aggregate.
Led by coach Oliver Spiteri, Balzan start off with a game against Mosta tomorrow.
New Mosta coach Edmond Lufi has overseen a squad overhaul as the Blues have parted with most of their established players, the likes of goalkeeper Omar Borg, defenders Tyrone Farrugia and Adrian Borg, and wing-back Dyson Falzon.
Bosnian forward Edin Murga has rejoined Mosta who have also signed goalkeepers Manuel Bartolo, from Valletta, and Andjelko Djuricic, from Serbia.
Greens put faith in Tedesco
• Italian coach Giovanni Tedesco, who has returned to Floriana, has a point to prove after his acrimonious exit from Birkirkara last December.
The Sicilian has reshuffled his squad, recruiting a host of new foreigners including Senegalese forward Amadou Samb, who played for the Greens two seasons ago, Italian striker Maurizio Vella, Brazilian defender Gustavo Franco Amadio, Argentine centre-half Enzo Ruiz, full-back Alex Cini and experienced goalkeeper Justin Haber.
Having narrowly missed out on European football in the last two seasons, Tedesco has been set the target of steering Floriana to qualification for the Europa League.
The Greens take on Pembroke Athleta, one of the surprise packages of the Premier League last season.
Coach Winston Muscat has made some changes to his squad. He has focused most of his attention on increasing his pool of Maltese players with his son Brandon Muscat, signed on loan from Hibs, and Malta U-21 striker Luke Montebello, on loan from Valletta, joining the likes of defender Adrian Borg and midfielders David Fenech and Clifford Gauci in making the switch to Pembroke.
Pembroke are also hoping to re-sign goalkeeper Matthew Calleja Cremona who has reportedly left Floriana after falling down the pecking order following the arrival of Haber.
Ħamrun Spartans are also keen on the Malta U-21 custodian.
Big-spending Gżira
• The other opening-day clash is between Gżira United and Tarxien Rainbows.
The appointment of Serbian coach Branko Nisevic, who left Hibs in May after three seasons, and a plethora of new signings underline Gżira’s ambition to hold their own on their long-awaited return to the top flight.
Malta centre-half Clifford Gatt Baldacchino, former Roma defender Souleymane Diamoutene and Brazilian trio Rafael Ledesma, Robert de Pinho de Souza and Joceano da Silva Santos, will lead Gżira’s challenge to retain their elite status.
Nisevic doesn’t have a full squad at his disposal for this evening’s duel with Tarxien as young midfielder Juan Corbalan and Spaniard Moises Avila Perez are sidelined with injuries.
For his part, Jacques Scerri, the Tarxien coach, will be seeking to build on his team’s commendable sixth-place finish last season.
Scerri has done well to keep the core of players who served him so well with a few additions, including young midfielder Kurt Zammit from Birkirkara, while talks with Melita over the transfer of Julian Galea have reached an advanced stage.
Opening programme
Playing today
Hibernians Stadium: 18.30 Birkirkara vs St Andrew’s; 20.30 Hibs vs Ħamrun Spartans.
Tedesco Stadium: 18.30 Gżira United vs Tarxien Rainbows; 20.45 Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers.
Tomorrow
Hibernians Stadium: 18.30 Floriana vs Pembroke Athleta; 20.30 Balzan vs Mosta.