Adelaide United will be looking to inflict more misery on fierce adversaries Melbourne Victory in the latest instalment of the Original Rivalry at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Both teams come into the clash in contrasting form with the Reds winning its previous three matches, while Victory have lost five of its past six games and lie at the bottom of the table.
Grant Brebner’s side suffered a 6-0 rout against Melbourne City last weekend and will be determined to make amends against another rival.
Adelaide prevailed in the reverse fixture back in January 1-0, thanks to a second-half goal from Mohamed Toure.
Carl Veart is aware Melbourne would be hurting and warned his side against any form of complacency.
Marvel Stadium has also proven to be a barren ground for United since the A-League’s inception, having recorded only two triumphs at the venue – in 2006 and 2017.
Veart on anticipating Victory reaction…
They’ve got some very good players in that team and yes, they’ve had a few runs of bad results but you’d expect a response from their playing group after last week’s performance.
Veart on not reading too much into Victory’s heavy loss last weekend…
It’s just the way the A-League’s going at the moment. You’re going to get some games where you’re going to have a poor performance. We’ve had a couple of poor performances ourselves this year and bounced back. It’s a ‘derby’, it’s against Melbourne Victory, there’s no form that goes into these games.
Veart on improved away form…
I think our performances have slowly been getting better from week to week and we want to build on that and that’s another great opportunity for us to get another win to make it four in a row.
Team news
Mohamed Toure has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and will miss the upcoming weeks, while Ryan Kitto is also out with a minor hamstring complaint.
Michael Jakobsen, Ryan Strain and Al Hassan Toure have all pulled up well from last week’s game after missing the past few matches and have been included in the travelling squad.
Head-to-head
Played: 53
Wins: 17
Draws: 10
Losses: 26
Last five meetings
1-0 win (H)
2-1 loss (A)
1-0 win (H)
3-1 win (H)
1-0 win (H)
Key stats powered by Opta
- Adelaide United has won five of its last six A-League games against Melbourne Victory (L1), keeping four clean sheets in the process.
- After beating Western Sydney Wanderers 3-2 in its last game away from home, Adelaide will be searching for back-to-back away wins in the competition for the first time since November 2019.
- Adelaide United has scored seven goals in the 76th minute or later this campaign, the most of any team and more than twice as many as Melbourne Victory (3).
- Stefan Mauk has a shot conversation rate of 38% from his eight shots this season, the highest of any player to have made at least five shots.
Ones to watch
It is hard to look past Craig Goodwin who has made an instant impact since his return to the Club on loan. The 29-year-old has already scored two goals in as many matches and will most likely be at the centre of Adelaide’s attacking play.
Callum McManaman is a dynamic presence for the Victory and has shown glimpses of his quality. Adelaide will need to be wary of the of the English winger, who has scored two goals in six games so far this season.
Match details:
Saturday, 13 March vs Melbourne Victory
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 12
Kick-off 6.40pm ACDT
Venue: Marvel Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
