Melbourne Victory will be out for consecutive Hyundai A-League victories when they host Central Coast Mariners in the final match of Round 4 on Sunday.
The Champions, 1-0 winners over Newcastle Jets in the Grand Final rematch, appear ready to begin climbing the ladder after collecting maximum points for the first time this term.
Central Coast shape as a potential banana skin, though, with Mike Mulvey’s men seeking to make up for last weekend’s loss to Adelaide United, their first of the season.
Can Victory live up to expectations with a more polished performance or will the Mariners puncture their progress at AAMI Park?
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REMEMBRANCE ROUND: Clubs band together to commemorate Armistice
KEY OPTA STATS
- Victory are undefeated in their last 15 games against Central Coast (W11, D4), a streak which began with Kevin Muscat’s first match against the Mariners as a manager.
- The hosts have won each of their last seven against the Gosford side at AAMI Park.
- The last five matches in which Victory have been involved have all been won by the away team.
THEY SAID IT
“[The Newcastle win] was extremely important for our morale – that’s our starting block now, so we’re going to build on that and take it into the game against Central Coast.” – Carl Valeri
INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Matt ACTON (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 3. Corey BROWN, 4.Keisuke HONDA, 5.Georg NIEDERMEIER, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Terry ANTONIS, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI, 13.Birkan KIRDAR, 14.Thomas DENG, 15.Raul BAENA, 16.Josh HOPE, 19. Rahmat AKBARI, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Nick ANSELL, 23.Jai INGHAM
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 13.Birkan KIRDAR (promoted), 15. Raul BAENA (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Kenny ATHIU (hamstring – TBC)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3.Jack CLISBY, 4.Jake McGING, 5.Antony GOLEC, 6.Tom HIARIEJ, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Michael McGLINCHEY, 10.Tommy OAR, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Adam PEARCE (gk), 13.Aiden O’NEILL, 15.Kye ROWLES, 18.Matt MILLAR, 19.Matt SIMON (c), 20.Kalifa CISSE, 22.Jacob MELLING, 25.Jordan MURRAY, 44.Ross McCORMACK
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Jake McGING (promoted), 25.Jordan MURRAY (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 2.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS (ACL), Corey GAMEIRO (Hamstring)
HOW TO WATCH
See how Round 4 concludes on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7:00pm (AEDT) on Sunday or tune in on the MyFootball Live App.
TICKETS
HEAD HERE to secure your seat at AAMI Park.