Leaders Birkirkara return to action against Valletta
The Assikura Women’s League resumes this weekend with the first action of 2024 as Mġarr United and Swieqi United meet in this Matchday’s highlight clash.
The Owls sit in second place on 27 points while the Greens are in third, trailing Swieqi by just one point.
Both sides are on the back of victories in their last commitments of 2023 with Swieqi having defeated Valletta while Mġarr beat Lija Athletic.
Michael Mangion’s Mġarr will be banking on the creativity provided by Brazilian Joelma, the league’s top scorer with 17 goals and the first winner of this season’s Assikura Player of the Month award.
Moreover, it will be a battle between the two most clinical forwards in this campaign so far in Mġarr’s Fernanda Peinado and Salamatu Abdulai of Swieqi.
The two players grabbed 15 goals each with Swieqi’s other forward, Karima, who is often used as a winger as well, trailing both strikers closely with 12 goals.
Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s best scorer is Italian Marta Grosso who has already scored 10 goals for the Stripes.
Jose Borg’s side, who have a four-point lead above Swieqi, will be looking to march on against Valletta who sit fifth with 15 points.
The Stripes won their last two games including a direct encounter against title rivals Hibernians which allowed them to take the lead before the end of the year.
The Paolites, on their part, take on San Ġwann as they look to keep the heat on the top positions.
Their Birkirkara defeat saw them slip into fourth place as they are joint-level with Mġarr on 26 points.
Elsewhere, Lija Athletic and Mtarfa will face each other at the Mġarr Ground.
Jethron Azzopardi’s Reds are second bottom with four points after 12 outings while Mtarfa are the only side still seeking their first points of the campaign.
FIXTURES
THURSDAY
Valletta vs Birkirkara – 20.15, Centenary Stadium.
FRIDAY
Mġarr United vs Swieqi United – 20.30, Victor Tedesco Stadium.
SATURDAY
Hibernians vs San Ġwann – 14.00, Mġarr Ground.
Lija Athletic vs Mtarfa – 16.30, Mġarr Ground.
