Sirens looking to shock Qormi in cup clash

Cup holders Valletta will face Mosta in today’s first quarter final match of the FA Trophy.

Valletta beat Melita 2-0 in the last round; however they will have to produce better form against a Mosta team capable of clinching unexpected results against stronger teams.

Mosta started their season with an unexpected 1-0 over Valletta in their opening fixture, suffering a 5-0 mauling in the reverse fixture.

Valletta will be without striker Lateef Elford-Alliyu and Dutch forward Djamel Leeflang who are both out through injury.  Defender Jonathan Caruana is also doubtful for the match.

Dyson Falzon is expected to make his return for Mosta against his former team, while Gambian defender Usman Koll is unlikely to feature.

Mosta defeated Gzira United 4-1 in their previous round.

In the second match today, undefeated Hibernians will be hoping to beat the challenge of Balzan to maintain their hopes of winning a memorable double this season.

Hibernians are eighteen points clear in the table and are hoping to emulate Valletta’s success last season.  They will however be facing a stern challenge in Balzan who have against all odds surprised this season and are currently sitting in fourth place in the table.  Balzan will be motivated to pursue their ambition of winning a first ever trophy this season.

Hibernians will be favourites to go through the next round having already beaten their opponents on two occasions in the leage 3-0 and 4-0.

The league leaders will be without injured Marcelo Dias and Andre Luis while defender Rui De Gracia Gomes will return to the team after returning from the African cup.

Balzan Coach Oliver Spiter has no selection problems.

In the previous round Hibernians beat Nadur Youngsters 2-1 in a controversial result, while Balzan easily disposed of second division side 6-0.

Tomorrow’s opening FA trophy quarter final sees surprise team Sirens take on premier division side Qormi.  Sirens qualified made it through to the quarter final after an astonishing 6-0 win over Gudja.

Qormi will be desperate to win the match in the hope of boosting their tarnished confidence after series of negative results has left them battling against relegation.

Last weekend Qormi gave away a two goal lead against Floriana with Mark Miller making his debut.  In the previous round of the cup, Qormi defeated Floriana 3-1.

The last tie of the round sees Birkirkara take on Pieta Hotspurs.

With Birkirkara’s title hopes growing increasingly slim, their only chance of winning any silverware this season may lie in the FA Trophy.

The stripes have not won the cup in seven years while the blues have never reached the last eight of the competition.

Gareth Sciberras may be available for the match afer picking up an injury while Eliandro is most likely to be out.

In their previous round, the stripes knocked out second division side Siggiewi 3-0.

Pieta on the other hand eliminated Gozitan side Victoria Hotspurs 1-0 in extra time with Coach Noel Coleiro expected to have a full squad for the encounter.

Quarter Finals:

Today: National Stadium 6pm Mosta Vs Valletta, 8pm Balzan Vs Hibernians

Tomorrow: Hibernians Stadium 2pm, Qormi Vs Sirens, 4pm Birkirkara Vs Pieta Hotspurs