Birkirkara vs Hibs (today at 2 p.m., National Stadium)
Birkirkara's involvement in today's curtain-raiser means that, for the second week running, they have the chance to turn up the heat on Valletta who will be in action in the second match.
The Stripes' high optimism about their chances of extending their winning streak received a boost in midweek with the news that three key Hibs players, Andrew Cohen, Adrian Pulis and Miguel Lopes de Pina, had been handed a one-match suspension.
Birkirkara left-back Carlo Mamo was given a one-match ban yesterday but Paul Zammit's resources are boosted by the return of Branko Nisevic and Paul Fenech who missed the 2-0 defeat of Qormi due to suspension.
Nikola Vukanac is also expected to return for Birkirkara after making good progress in his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Earlier this week, Birkirkara put the Sylvano Comvalius saga to bed after informing Russian club Spartak Nalchik that the Dutch forward was not going anywhere, at least until the end of the season.
Having fallen nine points off the top, Hibs now have a battle on their hands to claim a top-three finish.
Coach Mark Miller must make at least three changes from the team that went down to Valletta because of the one-match ban given to Cohen, Pulis and Lopes de Pina.
Defender Jonathan Caruana suffered a minor knee injury while training with the national squad this week but he's expected to declare himself fit to play.
Results so far: Hibs vs Birkirkara 2-2, 2-2.
Dingli Swallows vs Ħamrun Spartans (tomorrow at 2 p.m., Hibs Stadium)
On a high after their 2-1 win over Floriana, Ħamrun Spartans are expected to move a step closer to securing Premier League survival by beating bottom side Dingli Swallows.
Steve D'Amato, the Ħamrun coach, can't field the same team that floored the Greens last weekend as Manolito Micallef is suspended.
Timmy Fleri Soler is still sidelined with injury but Jonathan Holland is poised to earn a recall to the squad after completing his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Rooted to the bottom of the table with only two points and five games left, Dingli have long looked down and out. Coach Jesmond Zammit knows that his team's chances of avoiding the drop are as good as nil but he will be urging his players to give a good account of themselves in their remaining five matches.
Results so far: Ħamrun vs Dingli 3-0, 3-1.
Floriana vs Msida St Joseph (tomorrow at 4 p.m., Hibs Stadium)
Floriana and Msida St Joseph will be determined to win this 'six-pointer' to strengthen their hopes of staving off relegation.
Until a few weeks ago, Floriana looked a smart bet to retain their top-flight status but their defeat to Ħamrun last Sunday and Msida's come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Dingli the weekend before have complicated matters in the bottom pool.
The Greens will go six points clear of Msida if they win tomorrow whereas a victory for the Saints would move them on level terms with their opponents.
Zoran Popovic, the Floriana coach, will be hoping that the return of several key players who missed last weekend's defeat because of injuries and suspension, will give his team the edge over Msida.
Orosco Anonam, Julian Briffa, Christian Caruana and Joseph Borg are back in the frame after serving their one-match bans in last weekend's loss to Ħamrun while Clifton Ciantar and Owen Bugeja have recovered from injury.
Msida St Joseph coach Keith Gouder is concerned about the fitness of Tyrone Farrugia, one of his most important players. Farrugia has not trained since picking up a heavy knock during Malta U-21's 1-0 defeat in Belgium last week.
Goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo and Serbian midfielder Zoran Levnaic are poised to return for Msida after suspension kept them out of the win over Dingli.
Results so far: Floriana vs Msida 2-1, 4-2.