Adelaide United are in danger of sliding further down the Hyundai A-League ladder against old enemy Melbourne Victory on Friday night (kick off 7.30pm AEDT).
Gertjan Verbeek’s side have lost four matches in a row ahead of the clash, following a 3-0 downfall at reigning Premiers Perth Glory last Saturday.
That result put the Reds out of the top six and another defeat at home to their fiercest rivals would be a demoralising blow for the FFA Cup 2019 winners.
Losing this contest in the City of Churches would be a similarly costly defeat for Victory, who were comfortably swatted aside 3-1 when the two teams met last November.
With both sides level on 15 points, bragging rights and top-six credentials going on the line, this is looming as a potentially season-defining fixture for both sides.
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Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
Friday, 17 January 2020
Coopers Stadium
Kick off: 7pm local, 7.30pm AEDT
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
ROUND 15: How to watch Hyundai A-League Round 15
ROUND 14: Team of the Week
Ways to watch
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How to follow the action
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Team news
Adelaide United squad: 2.Michael MARRONE, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 5.Michaël MARIA, 6.Vince LIA, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Riley McGREE, 11.Kristian OPSETH, 14.George BLACKWOOD, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Nikola MILEUSNIĆ, 18.Lachlan BROOK, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Michael JAKOBSEN (c), 23.Jordan ELSEY, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 27.Louis D’ARRIGO, 31.Mirko BOLAND, 33.Cooper NUNN, 37.Jai KING, 40.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk)
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 18.Lachlan BROOK (promoted), 31.Mirko BOLAND (returns from injury), 33.Cooper NUNN (promoted), 37.Jai KING (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 10.James TROISI (hamstring), 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE (adductor), 29.Kusini YENGI (knee), 30.Isaac RICHARDS (knee), 35.Al Hassan TOURE (international duty), 36.Noah SMITH (foot)
Melbourne Victory squad: 2.Storm ROUX, 4.James DONACHIE, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 10.Robbie KRUSE, 11.Ola TOIVONEN (c), 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 22.Kristijan DOBRAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 26.Jay BARNETT, 50.Brendan WHITE (gk)
**1-3 to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Ola TOIVONEN (return from injury), 19.Ben CARRIGAN (promoted), 25.Brandon LAUTON (promoted),
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 1.Matt ACTON (shoulder), 3.Corey BROWN (released), 14.Thomas DENG (international duty) 5.Tim HOOGLAND (knee)
Did you know?
- Adelaide United have won their last three matches against Melbourne Victory and have never won four in a row in the history of the Original Rivalry.
- Adelaide United have lost their last four Hyundai A-League matches in succession. That’s as many defeats as they picked up in their previous 15 matches (won 10 and drawn one)
- Melbourne Victory have scored six goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season, the joint most of any team in the competition.
- Six of Melbourne Victory’s last seven matches have seen the half-time result stay the same at full-time. Victory have picked up three wins and three defeats in that spell.
- Reds centre-back Michael Jakobsen has made the most clearances of any player in the Hyundai A-League this season with 68. That’s nine more than Victory’s best, James Donachie, with 59.
