Rivals Valletta and Floriana will be striving to hand their fans an Easter treat tomorrow afternoon by emerging winners from their clash at the National Stadium (kick-off 4 p.m.).
The meeting between the neighbouring foes, their third this season, was scheduled to take place on Monday but in midweek, the Malta FA announced that the derby and the match between Birkirkara and Marsaxlokk, also from the Championship Pool, had been brought forward to Easter Sunday.
Such decision did not go down well with local fans, for religious and cultural reasons, while others pointed out that the switch, probably prompted by Malta's midweek friendly against Liechtenstein, will not encourage neutral supporters to venture to Ta' Qali as it meant that the weekend's top matches from the domestic top flight clashed with two glamorous fixtures from the English Premier League.
Yet, given the high stakes attached to tomorrow's games, the players involved will doubtless be urged to put their dissenting thoughts on having to play on Easter Sunday to one side and concentrate fully on the task at hand.
Although Floriana have yet to record their first win in the Championship Pool, coach Danilo Doncic is cautiously upbeat about his team's chances of slowing Valletta's title march.
"On paper, Valletta are the favourites but let's not forget that this is a derby match," Doncic said.
"It is often said that in derbies, there are no favourites.
"The pressure is on Valletta because any loss of points at this stage would dent their title chances.
"As far as we're concerned, we've already reached our top-six goal but that does not mean that we can now sit back and take it easy."
English winger Yala Bolasie has resumed light training after picking up a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat to Marsaxlokk but faces a race against time to regain his fitness.
Otherwise, Doncic has a full squad. The Serbian coach has been urging his players to capitalise on Valletta's win-at-all-costs position.
"For Valletta, every game is must-win and it's up to us to turn that situation in our favour," Doncic added.
"I feel that our performance level is improving and the prospect of facing Valletta should enhance the players' motivation. We can only revive our bid for a place in Europe next season with a positive result but this can only be done if the players fight for each other as they did in the first round match (Floriana won 3-2)."
Paul Zammit, the Valletta coach, concurs with the view that his side's third showdown with Floriana this season has assumed added significance after the Citizens surrendered top spot to Marsaxlokk.
"I've stressed before that all Championship Pool matches are important but there are two factors which have given our next fixture an extra edge," Zammit commented.
"Firstly, we are now looking upward at the team sitting above us in the table because we are no longer on top.
"Secondly, there's the element of rivalry between Valletta and Floriana.
"This fixture elicits strong feelings among our supporters, and myself as coach and the rest of the players feel in-duty bound to do our best to live up to our fans' expectations by winning the derby."
Zammit cannot pick his first XI from a full squad after German midfielder Heiner Backhaus, an energetic performer in the 1-1 draw against Birkirkara, and left-back Steve Bezzina were slapped with a one-match ban.
Young Nigerian forward Frank Temile is ranked doubtful after taking a number of knocks to his knees in the last few matches. Midfielder Claude Mattocks is provisionally suspended pending a decision on a failed dope test.
Valletta needed a last-gasp goal from Sebastian Monesterolo to rescue a point from their clash with Birkirkara on Monday but a draw was insufficient to return the Citizens to the summit.
Although the Whites showed remarkable resilience, some critics and fans felt that their performance on the day had fallen below the standards expected of them.
"Birkirkara's solid display didn't surprise me because they're a very good side," Zammit said.
"Their movement on the pitch is very good and they know how to play on the counter. Conceding a goal after just six minutes made things more complicated for us because we had to amend our gameplan.
"Without going into the finer details of the match, I am pleased that my players showed great character.
"They continued to fight until the end.
"Our attention now is fully devoted to Floriana. This game is also important for them as a club. Past form has little relevance in derbies and I expect nothing but a stern challenge from Floriana.
"As in every game, we can only aspire to win if our players perform to the top of their abilities."
Results so far: Valletta vs Floriana 2-3, 4-0.