Melbourne Victory will host the Newcastle Jets to round out the weekend’s A-League action at AAMI Park.
Victory’s last two outings have been less than impressive with a 5-0 domestic thumping at the hands of the Brisbane Roar preceding a 0-0 draw with Korean side Suwon Bluewings at home in the Asian Champions League midweek.
Kevin Muscat’s men remain in the top six, occupying the last finals spot, with a three point buffer between them and seventh placed Sydney FC. But the team will be well aware that their place in the finals is by no means secure and that these finals rounds require wins to ensure that they give themselves the best chance at attempting to defend their championship.
Newcastle also enter the match off the back of a loss, going down 1-0 to the Western Sydney Wanderers at home. The Jets will be disappointed they didn’t get even a point out of that match, after a good second half performance.
It has been an inconsistent season for Scott Miller’s men but they are still a mathematic chance to make finals. Currently sitting in eighth on 26 points, a win against the Victory will give Newcastle’s finals chances an almighty boost.
Key Battle – Kosta Barbarouses vs Newcastle’s fullbacks
The Kiwi international has arguably been Victory’s star player for most of this lacklustre season. He has been a constant positive attacking outlet and his creativity and pace was sorely missed against the Mariners, but even more so against the Roar.
CrownBet match odds at time of publishing
Kosta Barbarouses will come up against the returning Jason Hoffman and Nick Cowburn down either side of the opposition defence. Both players have had strong seasons for the Jets, with Cowburn coming into his own, playing full 90 minute games in the last three rounds.
Newcastle’s backline will need to nullify Barbarouses in order to seriously restrict Victory’s attacking outlets.
Team News
Victory will undoubtedly make some changes to their line-up. Barbarouses returns from suspension and he will return to the front three. Kevin Muscat will have to contend with the suspensions of Daniel Georgievski and Rashid Mahazi.
The Jets will also make some changes as they welcome back Daniel Mullen and Jason Hoffman, both returning from suspension, in a boost to their defensive stocks. The attacking trio of Alivodic, Trifunovic and Nordstrand should continue in attack.
Head-to-head
The Jets have the ascendency in this fixture having won 14 of the 32 matches. Victory have won 11 times with seven games ending in draws.
Previous Meeting
These sides last met at the start of the new year at Hunter Stadium, with Victory picking up their first win in Newcastle since 2009. Fahid Ben Khalfallah’s lone goal was enough for the Melbourne side to pick up all three points.
Prediction
Both sides need a win to ensure that finals football remains a possibility. They will both be disappointed with their performances of late and be hoping for a change of fortunes. The Jets were 1-0 winners last time these two sides played in Melbourne – at the end of last season – and it would not be surprising if the men from Newcastle pulled off a similar scalp.
However, the Victory will be feeling some sort of pressure and will know that two goalless games in all competitions cannot turn into three. So it seems most likely that the points will be shared in a scrappy affair.
Melbourne Victory 1 Newcastle Jets 1
*CrownBet odds at time of publishing are subject to change
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