With two wins from their opening two Championship Pool matches, Birkirkara will be aiming to tighten their grip on top spot with victory over Sliema Wanderers tomorrow (kick-off 4pm) but their task promises to be anything but straightforward as the Blues are widely regarded as one of the toughest teams in the Premier League.

Until a few weeks ago, the Wanderers were only seen as Europa League contenders as they trailed in fourth place for much of the opening five months of the campaign but they are on an upward trajectory, leapfrogging Hibernians into third place after going 10 matches without defeat.

Birkirkara defender Nikola Vukanac is backing his team to overcome this hurdle.

“It’s going to be a difficult match,” Vukanac told Times of Malta.

“Sliema have been playing good football for a long time. We certainly respect them as a team but even we have been together for a number of years and last season’s experience has made us stronger.

“I believe that we’ll be up to it.”

In the wake of Birkirkara’s shock exit from the U*Bet FA Trophy at the hands of Qormi, some feared that the Stripes might fall apart but they have responded to that setback with back-to-back wins, coming from behind to beat Balzan before crushing Mosta 4-0.

“That period (after the FA Trophy defeat) was difficult for us, also for other reasons,” the straight-talking Vukanac said.

“It was difficult to focus on football during that time but everything has been settled. We’re back on track.”

In spite of Birkirkara’s eight-point advantage over Sliema, Vukanac is not writing off the Wanderers’ chances.

“With eight games to go, Sliema are a direct opponent,” the Serb said.

“Mathematically, they’ve still got a chance. They are title rivals and that’s the way we are approaching this game.”

Determination and teamwork are the two main qualities that make Sliema difficult opponents according to Vukanac.

“Sliema play with grinta, they have a lot of fighting spirit and play as a team,” Vukanac said.

“They can be very compact and that makes them hard to beat.”

With the much-awaited match against Valletta looming large, Birkirkara know that a win tomorrow would improve their chances of preserving their three-point lead over the Citizens but Vukanac stressed that they are only focusing on the next game.

“We have eight matches remaining but we’re taking it one at a time,” Vukanac said.

“We’ll try to win every game and not think only about the Valletta encounter. We’re concentrating on the next fixture.”

Jet back home

Apart from midfielder Rowen Muscat, who is recovering from knee surgery, Birkirkara coach Paul Zammit has a full squad at his disposal.

Zammit was delighted that his international contingent were able to rest on Wednesday night after Birkirkara, with the backing of a foreign benefactor who is reportedly helping the club, hired a private jet to fly their players back to Malta soon after Wednesday’s friendly against Albania in Durres.

Like Birkirkara, Sliema head into this match in high spirits after routing Balzan 4-0 in their last outing.

That, coupled with a fine showing against Valletta (1-1), has strengthened Sliema’s belief that they can compete with the top guns.

Alex Muscat, the Sliema captain, said: “We produced a good performance against Valletta. On the day, if we give our utmost and perform to the best of our abilities, we can stop any team.

“The Birkirkara game will be difficult but we’re going out for the three points.”

Muscat is pleased that Sliema appear to be hitting top gear at such a crucial stage of the season.

“It’s very important to reach peak form in this period,” Muscat said.

“When the points are halved, the teams get closer to each other. We are unbeaten in the last 10 games and coming from a series of good performances.

“However, we need to keep our feet on the ground because we always commit mistakes when we think that we have arrived somewhere.

“That will surely not happen against Birkirkara because they are a top team. I hope that we maintain this positive trend to keep our fans happy and encourage more to come and support us as the numbers are increasing.”

Sliema’s stated objective at the start of the season was to qualify for Europe.

They are well on course to reach their target but a victory tomorrow would also propel them back into contention for the title.

“Our top priority is third place and Europa League football next season as that is very important for our club,” Muscat said.

“If we beat Birkirkara, we will get closer to the top two and that would in turn increase interest in the title race. But, the most important thing for us remains a top-three finish.”

Sliema still have Nigerian Abubakar Bello-Osagie sidelined with a knee problem.

Previous results: Birkirkara vs Sliema Wanderers 1-1, 3-1.