Birkirkara will have the opportunity to end their 2022 commitments in the Assikura Women’s League as sole leaders as three games will be played on Republic Day, this Tuesday.
The reigning champions will be in action in this week’s slate of fixtures while joint-leaders Swieqi United will be serving a bye.
However, the Stripes have a daunting task at hand as they will take on rivals Mġarr United in the highlight clash of the week.
Jose Borg’s Birkirkara lead the standings with 14 points and will come into this match with high spirits having beaten Swieqi 1-0, last week.
Sara Saliba scored a late goal to extend Birkirkara’s unbeaten run in the league to 75 games while making a bold statement that they are still the team to beat in this championship.
Birkirkara scored just 14 goals in six games, as they have the fourth best offensive record but they have the best defensive record, together with Swieqi, having conceded just twice – against Swieqi and Raiders Lija.
In the first round, Birkirkara defeated Mġarr 1-0 with Gabriella Zahra scoring the all-important winner.
Mġarr, on their part, sit third with 13 points and are at the back of two straight wins against Mtarfa and San Ġwann.
The Greens scored 20 goals in seven games – the third best offensive record in the championship, while conceding on five occasions.
Mġarr’s best scorer is Brenda Borg with five goals while Birkirkara’s are Veronique Mifsud and Alishia Sultana – with three goals each.
Sitting in fourth with 12 points are Hibernians who after launching their second round commitments in style with a comfortable victory over Mtarfa, they face San Ġwann this Tuesday.
Keith Gouder’s side have scored 27 goals in seven games as they have 12 points, trailing leaders Swieqi United and Birkirkara by just two points.
The Paolites, whose top scorer is Alexis Espitia with seven goals – level with Raiders Lija’s Lexine Farrugia, defeated San Ġwann.
Meanwhile, San Ġwann are still looking for their first points of the season after six outings.
They have scored three goals so far including against Mġarr in last week’s defeat.
Elsewhere, Raiders Lija take on Mtarfa as they look to get their campaign back on track after losing to Swieqi in their most recent outing.
Denis Guerra’s side has picked up 10 points in six matches so far, scoring 12 goals in the process.
On the other hand, Mtarfa have three points in seven league games following their victory against San Ġwann earlier this season.
THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES
TUESDAY
Mġarr United vs Birkirkara – Mġarr Ground, 15.00
Mtarfa vs Raiders Lija – Sirens Ground, 15.00
San Ġwann vs Hibernians – Sirens Ground, 15.00
MD9 bye: Swieqi United.
