Melbourne Victory will aim to end their four-game losing streak when they welcome Adelaide United to AAMI Park on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, head into this game off the back of a 2-1 loss to Perth Glory and will be looking to quickly return to winning ways.
Match preview
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Melbourne Victory fell to another defeat on Wednesday when they travelled to the Leichhardt Oval to face second-placed Sydney FC.
In an entertaining contest, Veteran strikers Bobo and Kosta Barbarouses scored in either half to condemn the Victory to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Tony Popovic's men have now failed to pick up anything in their last four outings and have claimed just one point since their 5-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers on April 23.
Melbourne Victory currently occupy the 11th spot in the A-League standings, one point above rock-bottom Newcastle Jets.
On the other hand, after surging to second place in the league table, Adelaide United have fallen off the pace in recent weeks.
The Reds failed to build on last week's victory over Brisbane Roar as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Perth Glory on Wednesday.
Kusini Yengi opened the scoring in the 28th minute, but Bruno Fornaroli restored parity in the 78th minute before Christopher Ikonomidis completed the comeback with four minutes remaining on the clock.
Carl Veart's side have picked up just two wins from their last 10 outings and this has seen them drop to fourth place in the log.
Their recent dip in form has been down to their struggles away from home, where they have managed just one point from their last four games.
However, Adelaide have won in six of their last seven meetings with Sunday's hosts and will feel confident of coming out of this tie with another victory.
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Team News
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Melbourne Victory forward Marco Rojas will sit out this tie as he is recovering from an ankle injury he sustained back in February.
The club recently announced that they have mutually parted ways with defender Ryan Shotton, who is expected to return to England this week.
Nick Ansell could make his return to the fold on Sunday, after serving his suspension for picking up a red card in the game against Perth Glory on May 5.
Meanwhile, Veart will still have to cope without the services of Nathan Konstandopoulos and striker Tomi Juric, who are ruled out with ACL and calf injuries respectively.
Spanish defender Javi Lopez will also sit out the game after sustaining a knee injury against Sydney FC back in March.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Acton; Roux, Broxham, Ryan, Barnett; Brimmer, Butterfield; Kamsoba, Brooks, Folami; Gestede
Adelaide United possible starting lineup:
Gauci; Marrone, Timotheou, Elsey, Cavallo; D'Arrigo, Juande, Mauk; Halloran, Juric, Goodwin
We say: Melbourne Victory 1-2 Adelaide United
Melbourne Victory will be desperate to end the campaign after their poor performances this season. They have picked up just four wins so far and are second-bottom in the league standings. While the visitors have stumbled in recent weeks, they are on course to secure a top-half finish thanks to their impressive start to the campaign. We predict Adelaide United will claim all three points as they have a stronger and more experienced squad.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Adelaide United win with a probability of 45.29%. A win for Melbourne Victory had a probability of 31.62% and a draw had a probability of 23.1%.
The most likely scoreline for an Adelaide United win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.14%) and 0-2 (6.3%). The likeliest Melbourne Victory win was 2-1 (7.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.3%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Adelaide United would win this match.
