Victory coach Kevin Muscat says he saw enough in the Hyundai A-League leaders’ 4-3 win over Melbourne City last week to suggest his team can beat the red and black on Saturday night at Etihad.
PREVIEW: Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney Wanderers
Wanderers surged to a 3-0 lead at Wanderland last Friday but had to hang on as City sparked into life in the final 15 minutes.
“They [Western Sydney] played very, very well and were aggressive and had a demeanour about them that they really wanted to pin Melbourne City down.
“So from that perspective, we’re going to have to be nice and bright,” Muscat told reporters on Friday.
“But certainly there were some areas that were exploited last week for them and hopefully we can do likewise this weekend.”
Victory (27 points) sit fourth ahead of their meeting with Western Sydney (33), with the Wanderers on top of the A-League.
However, Wanderers striker Brendon Santalab says all the pressure is on the reigning champions in Saturday night’s blockbuster at Etihad.
NEWS: Wanderers striker: ‘Pressure on Victory’
“I feel as though all the pressure is on Victory this week.
“Last week they had a 3-2 loss in Perth and with the ACL coming up and their hectic schedule, I feel all the pressure is on Melbourne Victory.
“We’ve prepared well this week and are very excited to face the Victory after last week’s win [over Melbourne City] which we probably should have won a little more comfortably,” he said earlier this week.
