Buoyed by their nailbiting 12-11 win over arch-rivals Neptunes Vodafone in their first big-four clash of the 2008 summer season last Friday, Sliema McDonald's will be upbeat about their chances of maintaining their perfect start to the National League.

This evening, the Blues take on Sirens Centro Casalinga in a clash between the only two teams with maximum points from their opening five matches. While Sliema had to draw on their famous resilience and staying power to edge past Neptunes, Sirens had a less exerting outing as they saw off fellow Division One contenders San Ġiljan Tropicana Juices 11-7.

A sterner challenge awaits Paul Privitera, scorer of four goals last weekend, and his colleagues this evening against the in-form Blues who are widely tipped to take a leading role in this year's fight for the league title.

Neighbours Neptunes and San Ġiljan will be looking to bounce back from their first upsets of the season by taking maximum points from their derby clash tomorrow.

The Reds put up a strong fight against Sliema last week but they paid the price for missing two penalties. As for San Ġiljan, they know that keeping concentration and tactical shape throughout the four sessions is crucial for their hopes of holding their own against the big guns.

Ta' Xbiex Mermaids Paradise have a double fixture this weekend. This evening, they will face Marsascala Ocean and Sky in what promises to be a balanced match. Tomorrow, Ta' Xbiex should prove too strong for Gozitan team Otters who suffered a 19-6 defeat to Marsascala last weekend in what was their first appearance in this season's National League.

The other fixture on this weekend's five-match card is between Marsaxlokk Freeport and Exiles Elle-et-Vire, two teams who recorded their first victories in their last outings. Marsaxlokk scraped past Marsascala 9-8 and Exiles had the better of Ta' Xbiex 5-2.

Programme (National Pool)

Today: 6.15 p.m. Ta' Xbiex vs Marsascala; 7.30 p.m. Sirens vs Sliema.

Tomorrow: 4 p.m. Otters vs Ta' Xbiex; 5.15 p.m. Marsaxlokk vs Exiles; 6.30 p.m. Neptunes vs San Ġiljan.

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