The first Melbourne Derby of the 2022-23 A-League campaign will take place on Saturday at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as the league leaders Melbourne City host Melbourne Victory.
Last Saturday, City suffered their first defeat of the season, falling 2-1 versus Sydney FC, while Big V have points in three of their previous four fixtures, edging Macarthur 1-0 a week ago.
Match preview
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City have begun the domestic campaign brightly once again, fresh off capturing the Premiership in back-to-back seasons but failing to emerge as champions in 2021-22, losing the Grand Final to Macarthur.
Caretaker manager Rado Vidosic has them well positioned to make a return trip to the final this season, two points clear of the Western Sydney Wanderers and unbeaten at home so far in this current A-League season.
To this point of the season, their attack has been a handful, scoring multiple goals in six of seven contests and leading the league with 15 strikes.
Their lead versus Sydney a week ago lasted less than a minute, as the Cityzens left plenty of gaps to the home side, conceding eight shots on target.
So far in 2022-23, Melbourne City have been excellent at exploiting space in between their opponent's defensive midfield line, creating numerous chances as a result.
Traditionally operating in a mid-block formation, City's quick counterattacking style has been highly influential as well, excelling at exploiting those wide areas of the field.
After a shaky first few games defensively, the Melbourne Victory backline has pulled it together, posting a third clean sheet in their previous four league contests on the road at Macarthur.
Under the guidance of the experienced Tony Popovic, the Vuck have adapted quickly to his counter-pressing approach, regaining their shape and defending well when dispossessed in their last few league fixtures.
Their narrow backline has created more separation for their front players lately, making them a more dangerous team when in possession.
They come into this game having conceded in only one of their previous three away matches, allowing just two efforts on target last Saturday and also at the end of October when drawing the Brisbane Roar 0-0.
Victory lost only four fixtures in the 2021-22 A-League Premiership campaign, but they have already suffered three this season, one of which was at home to Melbourne City, 2-0 in October.
That loss put an end to a four-game unbeaten run for them versus City in league play, after they had drawn them twice last season.
Team News
The top goalscorer in the A-League over the past three Premiership campaigns, Jamie Maclaren, is on his way to reclaiming his crown once again as he leads the league with nine this season, notching a brace, while Marco Tilio and Mathew Leckie also found the back of the net in their previous home fixture, which they won 4-0 over Perth Glory.
An own goal from Cadete along with one from Maclaren helped City triumph over Victory in October as Tom Glover made four stops to collect the clean sheet.
Aiden O'Neill sat out of their match against Sydney through suspension, Andrew Nabbout is questionable due to an illness, while Nuno Reis returned to the lineup last weekend for the first time since suffering a concussion in a 2-1 win over the Newcastle Jets.
Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo collected his third shutout of the campaign, drawing even with City's Tom Glover for second in the league and one behind Lawrence Thomas of the Western Sydney Wanderers.
They will be happy to have Ben Folami on their side for this derby as he scored five goals against Victory as a member of the Cityzens, while Nicholas D'Agostino and Chris Ikonomidis each have two goals to lead the team this season.
Skipper Joshua Brillante is available following a knock which kept him out of their clash with Macarthur, Roderick will need to pass a fitness test before he is cleared to play, Matthew Bozinovski made his first appearance of the domestic campaign last week, replacing Jason Geria late in the second half, and Nathan Konstandopoulos is eligible to return after missing their previous encounter with a minor injury.
Melbourne City possible starting lineup:
Glover; Bos, Jamieson, Reis, Galloway; Van der Venne, Gomulka; Leckie, Berisha, Nabbout; Maclaren
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Izzo; Cadete, Timotheou, Broxham, Nigro; Marchan, Brillante; Folami, Ikonomidis, Nani; D'Agostino
We say: Melbourne City 2-1 Melbourne Victory
Lately, Victory look more organised and compact defensively, but City have the personnel to get through that defensive line and a striker who has rarely been contained over the past few seasons, so we expect the home team will be too much for the visitors to handle this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
