Melbourne Victory will be looking to claim their first A-League win of the 2020-21 campaign when they host Perth Glory on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Glory will be hoping to get back to winning ways after suffering their first defeat of the season against Western United on Saturday.
Match preview
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Victory's 2020-21 campaign has not begun as planned as they have suffered back-to-back league defeats, most recently a 1-0 loss away at Adelaide United on Saturday.
Grant Brebner, who made over 120 appearances for Victory between 2006 and 2012, is still adjusting to his first managerial role in the top-flight after taking over from Marco Kurz who was sacked at the end of last season.
The Scotsman's side currently sit bottom of the A-League but after only two matches Brebner will not be too worried and knows that a few positive results will see them move up the table.
Victory have performed well against Perth Glory in recent years, winning three of the last four matches against them, including a 4-0 thrashing in their previous meeting.
Another win on Tuesday would be their first of the campaign and could move them as high as ninth, level on points with their opponents.
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Unlike Victory, the beginning of Glory's campaign has been nothing short of eventful as their opening two A-League matches saw a combined 17 goals scored.
Their first encounter against Adelaide United saw the Glory claim an entertaining 5-3 victory on home soil, before losing an equally enthralling match 5-4 away to Western United.
Head coach Richard Garcia was pleased with the impact Carlo Armiento had after scoring two goals from the bench but will be concerned with his team defensively as they have conceded eight goals from their first two games.
Perth will be hoping to shore up their backline on Tuesday, although they may find that difficult against a Victory side that have scored nine goals in their last four meetings against them.
Securing the three points on Tuesday would be their first triumph against Melbourne Victory since February 2019 and could move the Glory as high as fifth in the table.
Melbourne Victory Australian A-League form: LL
Perth Glory Australian A-League form: WL
Team News
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After two successive defeats, Victory boss Brebner may decide to make one or two alterations to his side.
Elvis Kamsoba could come in for Marcos Rojas, while Robbie Kruse may start ahead of either Callum McManaman or Jacob Butterfield.
Right-back Storm Roux, who made his 50th A-League appearance against Adelaide United, is set to remain in the starting lineup as is former Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa striker Rudy Gestede.
Glory defender Osama Malik and midfielder Christopher Oikonomidis remain out with long-term injuries sustained last year.
Club captain Diego Castro, who has missed the opening two fixtures, is still a doubt and will be assessed after suffering with a minor leg injury.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Roux, Shotton, Ryan, Traore; Broxham, Brimmer; McManaman, Butterfield; Kamsoba; Gestede
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Rawlins, Lachman, Aspropotamitis, Ingham; D'Agostino, Timmins, Kilkenny; Stynes; Fornaroli, Keogh
We say: Melbourne Victory 1-2 Perth Glory
Both sides will believe they have what it takes to claim all three points on Tuesday and even though Glory have shipped plenty of goals in the past week, they have the firepower up front that should be enough to see them outscore their opponents, bringing an end to their winless run against the hosts.
Oliver Thomas
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 Perth Glory win with a probability of 40.86%. A win for Melbourne Victory had a probability of 34.25% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Perth Glory win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.6%) and 0-2 (6.47%). The likeliest Melbourne Victory win was 2-1 (7.92%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.67%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood.
