Eight remaining clubs battle for semifinal places

■ This weekend is reserved for the quarterfinals of the competition which will see the last eight teams battling it out to earn a berth in the semifinals.

The winners of the competition will represent Malta in the Europa League next season and so one expects the teams or at least most of them to do their best to reach Europe via the Trophy.

With three of the so-called top clubs – Hibernians, Valletta and Birkirkara – eliminated, it remains to be seen who will eventually lift the Trophy – the new edition which was presented to the MFA on the occasion of the England-Malta match at Wembley last October.

Despite those three missing big names, there are still three other big names among the last eight, that is Balzan, Floriana and Sliema, not to mention Tarxien Rainbows, who are passing through a very good patch albeit having been beaten by Hibernians the past weekend in the League derby.

The programme starts today with one match in Gozo and another at the Hibs Ground. The remaining two matches are to be played tomorrow at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali.

In Gozo today, the only Gozitan side remaining in the competition, SK Victoria Wanderers, will be seeking to repeat their surprise elimination of St Andrews by knocking out Pembroke this time round.

Pembroke will certainly have to be at their best to keep the Wanderers at bay. The Premier League side must be considered favourites to advance, but one cannot exclude another surprise from the Gozitans.

Also today, at the Hibernians Stadium, holders Sliema Wanderers take on first division side Senglea Athletic.

The latter seem to be the underdogs, but one cannot forget their elimination of none other than Hibernians in a previous round.

Sliema have been rather inconsistent in the League campaign and occupy a mid-table position, but it is an open secret that it is their intention of winning this competition for a second time running to make it to European football next season.

Senglea will offer strong opposition as they did to Hibernians, but I still consider Sliema as firm favourites to go through.

The matches tomorrow are bound to be keenly contested as they involve Premier clubs only.

In the opening match, Balzan take on Tarxien Rainbows while in the second encounter, Floriana meet Hamrun Spartans in what should be a fiery affair.

After their surprise defeat at the hands of Sliema last week, Balzan now look forward to return to victory against the Rainbows and secure their place among the Last Four.

Of course, it will not be easy as the Rainbows are also eager to make further progress in the competition.

Balzan are certainly my favourites, but one can expect a very tough challenge from Tarxien who have had a very impressive start to the year 2017.

The Floriana-Hamrun match should also be very keenly contested.

It is another open secret that these two sides are looking at this competition to make it to European football, although in my opinion, the Greens seem to be in a more favourable position, at least if one takes their current position in the League standings into consideration.

Moreover, Floriana are coming from a very good win against Birkirkara which has kept them close to third placed Valletta, while the Spartans lost to Valletta the past weekend.

It is a match which could go either way, but the Greens are my favourites to go through.