Current league leaders Melbourne Victory will be looking to keep their grip over first position with a win over the lowly Newcastle Jets in the opener of Round 25.
The two sides meet on Friday night at AAMI Park with the home side on the back of an impressive victory against the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand, while the Jets were left to pick up the pieces after a poor showing at home to Perth, which included outspoken criticism from their own fans.
Key Battle – Gui Finkler vs Ben Kantarovski
The Victory’s Brazilian maestro continues to fly under the radar in a star-studded attack, but he is perhaps the Victory’s most important player. On the scoresheet again last weekend following a double the week previous, Finkler is an integral clog in the Victory attack and stopping him is key to restricting the team going forward. The responsibility will likely fall to Jets mainstay Ben Kantarovski, who anchors the midfield.
He will need to ensure that his defensive covering is astute in order to stop Finkler, restricting his time and space on the ball, which sounds simple enough but at the tempo the Victory move the ball and spread, is a very difficult task. Only a handful of teams have been able to limit Finkler this season and you will find that on those occasions the entire squad have not been at their best. The Victory have never lost when the Brazilian has scored.
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Team News
Victory’s first choice goalkeeper Nathan Coe is in doubt, failing to train today following an injury he sustained against the Phoenix where he was substituted off. One would think that with the finals nearing, the club would not risk him. This could mean a start for Lawrence Thomas who has been restricted to a place on the bench over the past few years. Mark Milligan is also right to go after he too was also forced off on Sunday, while Kosta Barbarouses may get a start after making his return from injury as a substitute.
Melbourne Victory Expected XI: Thomas, Georgievksi, Delpierre, Ansell, Geria, Valeri, Milligan, Finkler, Barbarouses, Khalfallah, Berisha.
The Jets have no major absentees to speak of but coach Phil Stubbins may seek to ring the changes after a poor showing at home last week to the Perth Glory. Jacob Pepper and Radovan Pavicevic may get chances after being restricted to appearances off the bench.
Newcastle Jets Expected XI: Kennedy, Cowburn, Mullen, Regan, Lee Ki-Je, Kantarovski, Pepper, Alidovic, Pavicevic, Hoole, Montano.
Head-to-Head
Surprisingly the Jets have the upper hand in terms of head to head meetings between the pair, winning 12 of 27 encounters.
These two sides last meet just before the new year when a Gui Finkler special rescued the three points agains the Jets in an underwhelming display at AAMI Park.
With only five minutes remaining, Finkler stroked a free kick into the top corner from the edge of the area as Victory finally broke down a resolute Jets unit.
https://youtu.be/4ecpt8LApBU
Prediction
The result in this match is crucial to the Victory’s hopes for top spot and the Premiers Plate, with the club due to head to Brisbane where they will play Roar twice in four days to make up for the game that was called off due to Cyclone Marcia in February.
Perhaps Kevin Muscat will take the cautious approach and rest some of his stars with the taxing schedule to come, but if you look back to the time these sides last met you will find the Jets can be a tricky proposition when you least expect it. The Victory should have too much class for Newcastle with too much on the line at this stage in the season.
Melbourne Victory 3 Newcastle Jets 0
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