The tit-for-tat nature of this season's title race has produced plenty of drama and excitement, especially in the past few weeks.
Seemingly down and out after falling six points off the pace just over a month ago, Valletta have staged an astonishing comeback, reeling off five wins in a row to overhaul erstwhile favourites Hibs.
One point to the good at the top with only two matches left, the champions can wrap up the title in the next three days if they overcome Marsaxlokk and Hibs lose to Birkirkara. But, having been in the driving seat for so long, the Paolites will surely be hellbent on keeping their hopes alive by avoiding defeat on Monday.
The thrills and spills of the last few weeks have heightened the possibility of a mouthwatering title showdown between Valletta and Hibs besides deepening the incandescent rivalry between the respective fans.
A combination of Valletta's win over Floriana and Hibs' draw with Sliema ensured that the Citizens will remain in contention to win the title until their last-day meeting with Hibs, regardless of the outcome of their clash with Marsaxlokk today (kick-off 17.00).
Given the high stakes, Valletta will be going all out to extend their winning run and ratchet up the pressure on Hibs before their duel with Birkirkara.
Mindful that the growing euphoria among the fans might cause collective minds to wander, Valletta coach Paul Zammit stressed the importance of keeping one's focus at this crucial stage of the season.
"The next game is always the most important," Zammit told The Times. "It feels good to be back on top but we are only one point ahead of Hibs. Everybody has been talking about the last match against Hibs being decisive but we've got to play Marsaxlokk first.
"Our focus is on the next game as we must take maximum points to make sure of maintaining our lead over Hibs.
"The message I've been trying to drum into my players is that we're so close but yet so far. Personally, I'm not thinking about May 24 (the date of the final league match against Hibs) because Marsaxlokk deserve our full attention.
"Marsaxlokk will not be easy opponents. I've always thought that with the squad they have, Marsaxlokk had the potential to challenge for honours but their campaign has been disrupted by inconsistency."
The balance in the title race swayed in Valletta's favour on Monday when Hibs could only draw 0-0 with Sliema. The stalemate was met with a few raised eyebrows but Zammit insisted that he was not taken aback by the outcome.
"I was not surprised that Sliema held Hibs to a draw," Zammit said.
"We experienced this in the first round of the Championship Pool when we lost to Birkirkara and drew with Floriana. The top-six teams can take points off each other."
Zammit is unlikely to make significant changes from the team that cruised to a 2-0 win over Floriana last week. Cleaven Frendo is still recovering from a cruciate operation while Paulo Massaro is expected to fly out to Rome early next week for tests on his injured knee.
The initial prognosis is that the Brazilian forward has ruptured knee cruciate ligaments but Massaro wants to undergo further tests to confirm the nature and extent of his injury.
Marsaxlokk coach Patrick Curmi is expected to field the same team that started Saturday's 2-2 draw with Birkirkara.
Midfielder Trevor Templeman will not be considered for selection after being dropped from the squad for disciplinary reasons.
Having climbed up to fourth after a sequence of positive results, Marsaxlokk are still hopeful of securing a top-four finish despite the lingering uncertainty about their eligibility to take part in European competitions.
Marsaxlokk have challenged the decision of the MFA Licensing Board not to grant them an operating licence for next season but the Appeals Board on Tuesday ruled against the Premier League club.
"I believe that Marsaxlokk deserve to be one of Malta's representatives in Europe next season," Curmi said.
"My job is to ensure that the team's focus remains on football.
"We're in for a very difficult match against Valletta. Their morale is high after they won their last five matches to keep their title bid on track but we've also been playing well lately.
"I guess it's going to be a hard game for both teams and I hope the match will be entertaining for the fans."
Hibs vs Birkirkara
Injuries and suspensions have decimated Hibs' options in attack as Terrence Scerri, the Premier League's leading marksman, is out with an ankle problem, Jean Paul Farrugia is struggling with a knee injury and Zeferino Soares Borges must serve a one-match ban.
The setbacks encountered by Hibs in recent weeks may have inflicted a dent in their title hopes but coach Miller Miller is backing his team to bounce back.
"We're still in it (title race)," Miller said. "We're struggling with injuries but a draw against Birkirkara would be enough for us to stay in with a chance before our last match against Valletta, by which time we will hopefully get some players back.
"This season, we've tried to enforce attacking football and we will continue to do that. However, we also need to be clever during our match against Birkirkara. We want to keep the title race open until the final match and I believe we can do it.
"We've got enough power in defence and midfield to fight and make it hard for Birkirkara. They are a good side but I believe we're capable of getting a result against them."
Since going down 2-1 to Valletta, Hibs have won one and drawn two of their last three matches. Miller bemoaned what he described as a change of approach by their opponents in the last few outings.
"In the second round of the Championship Pool, I felt that the teams changed their approach when facing Hibs," the former Malta U-21 coach remarked. "They set out to gain a draw and the pressure was on us to get the three points.
"Look at Sliema last Monday. They were difficult to break down because theirs was a defensive gameplan but I think that's quite disappointing for Maltese football.
"For me, a coach's job is to encourage the team to play football and try to win a game, not defend for 90 minutes."
Judging by their recent performances, Birkirkara face a monumental task to end their disastrous run of results against Hibs but the same was also said about Sliema before they crossed swords with Hibs on Monday.
The Stripes were fortunate to salvage a point against Marsaxlokk last Saturday. Trailing 2-0 and having barely mustered a shot at goal for 70 minutes, Birkirkara hit two quick goals to force a 2-2 draw.
Birkirkara coach John Buttigieg needs no-one to tell him that his team must raise their game significantly if they are to make a contest out of their match against Hibs.
Birkirkara coach Joseph Zerafa, Birkirkara's best player against Marsaxlokk, can't face Hibs on Monday due to suspension but on the plus side, Bulgarian defender Ivalyo Sokolov is back in the frame after serving a one-match ban.
Angus Buhagiar and Lee Lombardi are still recovering from injuries.
Results this season - Valletta vs Marsaxlokk 2-0, 1-0,1-0; Hibs vs Birkirkara 6-0, 3-2, 2-0.
Sliema vs Floriana
On a high after gaining a hard-earned point from their clash with Hibs, Sliema Wanderers will be gunning to take three from their final encounter with Old Firm rivals Floriana this afternoon (kick-off 15.00).
With Marsaxlokk taking on Valletta in today's second match, Sliema also have the chance to reclaim fourth spot and turn the heat on the southerners.
Stephen Azzopardi, the Sliema coach, welcomes back in the fray Ivan Woods and Roderick Bajada who missed Monday's goalless draw because of suspension.
Goalkeeper Henry Bonello is also expected to be available for selection as he nears full recovery from the hamstring problem that kept him out of his team's last outing.
John Mintoff is suspended after his red card against Hibs, Victor Ortega Coto is injured and Miguel Ciantar is unavailable as he's doing his A-level exams.
Floriana are still without a win in the Championship Pool.
Coach Tony Alamango must make do without two first-choice players today, namely Ryan Darmanin and Steve Bonnici who are sidelined with injuries.
Results this season - Sliema vs Floriana 0-0, 0-3, 1-1.