It is a bottom-of-the-table clash in the A-League when Melbourne Victory take on Western United at the Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
After picking up seven points from eight games, Melbourne Victory are seated 11th in the league table, while Western United, who have picked up eight points from six games, occupy 10th position.
Match preview
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Melbourne Victory have endured a horrid season so far, and with two wins and five defeats in eight matches, questions have been raised over Grant Brebner's future at the helm.
The Victory snapped a run of three straight losses with a much-needed win last time out, when Rudy Gestede grabbed a brace to hand the hosts a 2-0 triumph over Wellington Phoenix.
On the other hand, Western United might not have had an excellent start to the season, but they have not been too poor either.
With six games played and three games in hand, the visitors find themselves in 10th place in the A-League table, picking up two wins, two draws and two defeats.
The Geelong outfit have been impressive in front of goal over the last month, scoring 11 goals in their last four games, and they have been decent at the other end of the pitch too, conceding 10 goals all season.
In their last outing, Besart Berisha, Alessandro Diamanti and Iker Guarrotxena all got on the scoresheet as Mark Rudan's men cruised to a 4-1 victory over second-placed Macarthur.
Melbourne Victory have been decent on home turf, picking up six points from a possible 12, while the visitors have struggled on the road, failing to pick up a point in their two away matches this season.
However, Western United have an almost flawless record against the hosts, as they are unbeaten in all four previous meetings, with three wins and one draw.
Their last clash ended in an uneventful goalless draw, but both sides will come looking for the all-important win on Saturday, as they aim to push out from the bottom of the table.
Melbourne Victory Australian A-League form: WDLLLW
Western United Australian A-League form: DLWDLW
Team News
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Melbourne Victory come into this tie after an injury-plagued meeting with Wellington Phoenix last time out.
Central defender Dylan Ryan picked up an injury in the fourth minute against the Phoenix, and he was replaced by Aaron Anderson.
His centre-back partner Ryan Shotton was also hooked off at half time, while Marco Rojas, who was making his return from an injury lay-off, suffered another injury setback when he twisted his ankle before the half-hour mark.
As for Western United, Iker Guarrotxena is a doubt for the visitors after he was withdrawn with a slight knock against Macarthur last week.
Josh Risdon and Seb Pasquali are the only guaranteed absentees, as they are still sidelined with a broken tibia and hip injury respectively.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Traore, Ansell, Anderson, Roux; Broxham, Butterfield; Kruse, Brimmer, McManaman; Folami
Western United possible starting lineup:
Kurto; Calver, Durante, Vujica; Uskok, Sanchez; Lustica, Imai, Pain, Diamanti; Berisha
We say: Melbourne Victory 0-2 Western United
Western United have shown great improvement in recent weeks, and they have had some high-scoring results in the process.
They take on an injury-hit Victory side who have struggled for results this season, and considering the visitors are currently the better side, we see them coming out with all three points and heaping misery on the hosts.
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 Melbourne Victory win with a probability of 40.39%. A win for Western United had a probability of 34.04% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Melbourne Victory win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.7%) and 2-0 (6.7%). The likeliest Western United win was 0-1 (8.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.11%). The actual scoreline of 3-4 was predicted with a 0.4% likelihood.
