The A-League is back and a Melbourne derby is a great way to get fans excited. Here’s a look at our preview & analysis for the matchup.
MELBOURNE VICTORY VS MELBOURNE CITY – SATURDAY 12 OCTOBER, 7:30PM, MARVEL STADIUM
It is a new beginning for both teams with new coaches at the hel for the 19/20 season and it will be important for both coaches to show their fans that they are the right man for the job.
With Ola Toivonen, Andrew Nabbout and more on call, the Victory will be hoping they have the firepower to take care of a City side that will be missing Jamie Maclaren due to international duty.
Team News
Melbourne Victory squad:
2.Storm ROUX, 3.Corey BROWN, 4.James DONACHIE, 5.Tim HOOGLAND, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 11.Ola TOIVONEN (c), 14.Thomas DENG, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 22.Kristijan DOBRAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 26.Jay BARNETT, 30.Matthew SUTTON (gk) **2-4 to be omitted**
Unavailable:
1.Matt ACTON (shoulder), 7.Kenny ATHIU (international duty), 10.Robbie KRUSE (hamstring), 13.Birkan KIRDAR (international duty)
Melbourne City FC squad
1.Tom GLOVER, 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 3.Scott JAMIESON, 4.Harrison DELBRIDGE, 6.Josh BRILLANTE, 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 8.Javier CABRERA, 10.Florin BERENGUER, 11.Craig NOONE, 13.Nathniel ATKINSON, 19.Lachlan WALES, 20.Adrian LUNA, 21.Ramy NAJJARINE, 22.Curtis GOOD, 23.Dean BOUZANIS, 30.Moudi NAJJAR, 34.Connor METCALFE, 35.Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 40.Richard WINDBICHLER, 49.Stefan COLAKOVSKI **2-4 to be omitted**
Unavailable:
9.Jamie MACLAREN (international duty), 17.Denis GENREAU (international duty)
Did you know?
- Melbourne Victory scored 31 second-half goals in A-League 2018/19, the joint-most of any team in the competition (alongside Perth Glory).
- Melbourne Victory are undefeated in their last four A-League games at Marvel Stadium (W3,D1); the last time they went longer without loss there was a 12-game stretch from 2014 to 2016 (W10, D2).
- Melbourne City have lost only one of their last five A-League games against Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium (W3, D1); though, neither side has kept a clean sheet in that time.
Betting Insights
* Insights are limited being week one of the season but they will get more in-depth and reliable as the season goes on.
- The ‘Both Teams to Score’ market has hit in each of the last six A-League matches between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City at Marvel Stadium.
- Four of Melbourne City’s last five A-League matches as an underdog have resulted in a draw.
Our Pick
Victory will have too much strike force up front and will win this 2-1
