The Big Blue always provides a tasty spectacle and Tuesday should be no different.
The four-year-old Big Blue Australia Day tradition did not go ahead last year because of the Asian Cup but has now returned and promises an irresistible encounter between the two biggest A-League clubs, which will cram over 35,000 into Etihad Stadium on a cool Tuesday night.
By the quirk of their positions on the table, it adds even more spice to the occasion with Victory having the chance to crush their arch-rivals and to at least equal Sydney’s third position on the ladder.
“Fans turn up in numbers because they know what’s on the line and they know they’re going to have an exciting game on their hands,” Barbarouses said.
“That’s something the boys really feel privileged having that and there’s not many other teams that can go to Etihad and have those numbers at the game.”
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Following a pre-Christmas form slump on the brink of Christmas, Victory surprised many with their 4-0 smashing of table-topping Brisbane Roar last Friday. Now, a question of consistency remains.
A three-goal deficit was turned around in Geelong against the Mariners a fortnight ago and Barbarouses believes it was a turning point for the team. Subsequently, the comprehensive win against Roar did not come as a shock.
“It was really pleasing, Musky told us during the week and how we were going to go about the game is exactly how the boys executed it,” he said.
“I don’t think we were surprised by it, I’m sure a lot of people were glad with the way things transpired.
“(The Central Coast game) was a massive wake up call. Before that the results weren’t going our way, I think we were playing really well in patches, but not the full game.
“Since then, we’ve really woken up and the boys have responded fantastically, in that second half against Brisbane, to put in a full 90 minute performance was really pleasing.
“The scary thing is that’s what the team is capable of, like I said the 90 minute performances haven’t been there before, it was good to get that against Brisbane.
“I feel like we were doing ourselves an injustice with the quality we had in the team, hopefully we can continue that going forward.”
Archie Thompson’s return in the Christmas Melbourne Derby showed his involvement was still crucial to Victory’s overall speed and attack, bolstering the front line with clever runs.
He and Barbarouses remain among the fastest in the Victory squad. Twenty-five-year-old Barbarouses was of the belief he was improving every week and Thompson was still key to the Navy Blues’ progress despite his age.
Nick Ansell looked certain to return to regular game time after being substituted versus the Mariners and the Roar. The young centre-back would likely improve Victory’s squad immensely, giving Leigh Broxham the chance to slot back into a centre-midfield role.
“(Ansell) has come back very strongly, he looks very confident, it takes some players a few weeks or a couple of months to come back, but to have him back will be a massive boost for us coming into a busy period,” Barbarouses said.
“Archie Thompson is a guy that doesn’t age at all, his football remains amazingly consistent – I’m not sure what that’s down to, I’m sure he has a lot of confidence in himself and for good reason, he’s an amazing player.
“The same with this Nick (Ansell) situation, having Archie in the team is a massive boost for us and I’m sure he’s going to help us a lot in the coming months along the way.
“Personally I think my form has been pretty good over the last few weeks, obviously it doesn’t really count for much getting results.
“I’m confident in myself and as long as any way I can contribute to the team, if that’s with goals then fantastic. It’s really good to get on the scoresheet again and I want to get a few more before the season finishes.”
Victory hold the wood against Sydney FC since early 2014 and have developed a strong form line against their arch rivals, highlighting that with a convincing 4-2 win away at Allianz Stadium earlier this season.
Despite that confidence, there was a sense of respect and caution in their approach to the Big Blue.
“Sydney are a bit like us, they have their structure and their method of playing. Arnie has them playing really tough to break down,” he said.
“It’s just going to come down to our quality I think in certain areas and how we can break them down.
“I am expecting them to be really hard to break down again, but if we show a bit of quality in some areas I think we can hurt them.”
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