Holders Birkirkara open their FA Trophy title defence this evening when they take on Division Two side Kirkop United as four Premier League sides make their first appearance in the cup competition this season.

The Stripes are looking at this tie as a perfect opportunity to bounce back and put their Premier League troubles behind them following last weekend’s poor showing and a 4-0 upset to Valletta.

Coach Giovanni Tedesco will have Fabrizio Miccoli back after recovering from calf injury.

However, tonight’s match against Kirkop is likely to be the striker’s first and last appearance in the FA Trophy competition.

Last week, the former Juventus and Palermo star expressed his desire to return home for family reasons and reached an agreement with Birkirkara to rescind his contract at the end of the month.

Mid-table Kirkop are not expected to trouble Birkirkara and deny them a place in the fourth round where a rematch against Valletta awaits the Stripes should the Citizens overcome Xewkija Tigers on January 6.

Kirkop reached this stage of the competition after eliminating Mtarfa 3-2 in the previous round.

Balzan are another side from the top flight keen to get back to winning ways today when they face Fgura United who dismissed Siġġiewi 3-0 in the second round.

The Reds come into the match on the back of a 3-0 Premier League defeat to Tarxien Rainbows.

Coach Oliver Spiteri has no selection worries but expects his players to remove the weekend performance out of their system and score a convincing victory over their opponents from Division One to lift their confidence levels ahead of Sunday’s league clash against Valletta.

The winner of the Balzan-Fgura tie play Melita next.

Floriana and Pembroke start favourites for a trouble-free passage to the fourth round when they face St Lawrence Spurs and San Ġwann, respectively.

This will be Floriana coach Luis Oliveira’s first experience in the FA Trophy and he will surely relish the chance of reaching the deep end of the tournament in his first season here.

St Lawrence reached the third round at the expense of fellow Gozitan sides Oratory Youths (1-0) and Victoria Hotspurs 4-2.

Pembroke have enough ammunition to overcome Division One strugglers San Ġwann even though the challenge of the underdogs should never be discarded in cup competition.

Playing today
Centenary Stadium: 18.00 Pembroke Athleta vs San Ġwann; 20.15 Balzan vs Fgura United.
Tedesco Stadium: 18.00 Floriana vs St Lawrence Spurs; 20.15 Birkirkara vs Kirkop United.

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