The Isuzu UTE A-League finals series ramps up this weekend, with Melbourne Victory taking a slender lead into their semi-final second leg against Western United on Saturday, while the Melbourne City-Adelaide United tie is evenly poised heading into Sunday’s showdown.
THE SEMI-FINAL AGENDA
Melbourne Victory v Western United
Saturday, May 22 2022
AAMI Park
Kick-off: 5.15pm AEST
Broadcast: 10 Bold, Paramount+
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Melbourne City v Adelaide United
Sunday, May 23 2022
AAMI Park
Kick-off: 2.05pm AEST
Broadcast: 10 Bold, Paramount+
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THE FINALS FORMAT
MELBOURNE CITY V ADELAIDE UNITED
It’s all square heading into leg two of this semi-final after a goalless draw between Adelaide United and Melbourne City at Coopers Stadium on Wednesday night.
City’s Andrew Nabbout struck the woodwork and Reds keeper Joe Gauci starred, in a game which had plenty of tension and its fair share of controversy. The most contentious moment of the fixture came in the second half, when Adelaide were denied a penalty after Isaias’ cross into the penalty area struck the elbow of City defender Carl Jenkinson.
It was the sliding doors moment of a game in which the visitors had the better of the chances, but ultimately neither side could gain an advantage by full-time.
It was the fourth meeting between these two teams this season, and for the fourth time City failed to defeat the Reds (three draws, one defeat). In fact, City are yet to beat any of the three other sides that finished inside the top four this season (Adelaide, Western United, Melbourne Victory). In 10 games against the three teams in question City have drawn six and lost four.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s side need to break that streak against the Reds on Sunday, then repeat the feat against one of Western or Victory in the Grand Final to win back-to-back Championships.
On Sunday, the Reds return to AAMI Park: the scene of one of their great victories in 2021-22.
In February Adelaide came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 through a late Mohamed Toure winner which shocked the reigning Champions on their home turf.
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KEY STATS
- Adelaide United are undefeated in their last four A-League Men games against Melbourne City (W1, D3) and have never lost to them in the post-season, picking up two wins and a draw from their three finals meetings including an extra-time win in the 2018/19 finals.
- City were defeated 2-1 in their last ALM game against Adelaide at AAMI Park (15 February 2022), snapping a seven-game unbeaten run in such fixtures (W5, D2); the last and only previous time they lost consecutive games against the Reds at AAMI Park was their first two such meetings in November 2010 and January 2012.
- City have lost only one of their last nine ALM games at AAMI Park (W5, D3) and have won three of their four previous post-season games at the venue (L1).
- Adelaide are undefeated in their last seven league games (W6, D1), their longest unbeaten streak in the competition since a run of 14 games from December 2015 to March 2016 (W11, D3), however, that 14-game streak was ended by a 1-0 loss to City.
- The Reds have lost 10 of their 11 ALM finals games outside South Australia (W1); their only victory in that span was a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar in June 2021 while one of their 10 defeats saw them succumb to a loss on penalties (5-4) against the Perth Glory in May 2019.
- City have had 19 goals directly involving a player under the age of 23 in this season (nine goals, 10 assists), the second-most of any team in the competition behind Central Coast Mariners (23 – 13 goals, 10 assists).
- City have scored a goal from inside the box once every 17 entries into the penalty area this season, the most frequent of any team in the competition and 10 fewer entries per goal than Adelaide (27).
- No team has won more games this ALM season when they’ve finished with a lower Expected Goals than their opposition than Adelaide (six), while only Western Sydney Wanderers FC (0) have won fewer such games than City (one).
- City star Florin Berenguer has created 18 scoring chances for Jamie Maclaren in the league this term – including two assists – which is more than any other player for a single team-mate in the competition.
- Adelaide’s Ryan Kitto (149 games) is set to make his 150th appearance in the A-League Men, while team-mate George Blackwood (99 games) is on the cusp of his 100th appearance in the competition; in fact, Kitto has played more minutes this season (1,880) than in any of his previous seven while Blackwood (five) has equalled his season-best goal tally in the competition.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
Melbourne City: D – W – L – L – W
They are the defending champions and Premiers again, but Patrick Kisnorbo’s City are still searching for their first win against a top-four team this season. With just two wins in their last five league games, outside the AFC Champions League, City are stuttering.
Adelaide United: D – W – W – W – W
The midweek 0-0 draw snapped Adelaide’s six-game winning streak, though the Reds remain unbeaten in seven matches. Aside from Victory, Carl Veart’s Adelaide are next-best team in terms of form.
HEAD-TO-HEAD THIS SEASON
Adelaide United 2-2 Melbourne City
November 27, 2021. Coopers Stadium.
Adelaide dramatically scored two late goals to snatch a 2-2 draw with City in their opening fixture of the season. Jamie Maclaren and Andrew Nabbout had the visitors on track for a second consecutive victory to open their title defence. However, Stefan Mauk and Ben Halloran – who have both since departed – scored in the final 15 minutes in a thrilling encounter.
Adelaide United 2-2 Melbourne City
January 15, 2022. Coopers Stadium.
Hiroshi Ibusuki enjoyed a dream debut as Adelaide and City shared the spoils again in another thriller. The towering Japanese striker came off the bench to equalise with six minutes remaining after Adelaide had missed a penalty. Andrew Nabbout and George Blackwood traded goals before Jamie Maclaren restored City’s lead in the 66th minute. City defender Nuno Reis was sent off and Adelaide eventually capitalised during the closing stages.
Melbourne City 1-2 Adelaide United
February 15, 2022. AAMI Park.
A run of back-to-back draws came to an end in February, Adelaide leaving Melbourne with maximum points. Mohamed Toure was the hero for the visiting Reds at AAMI Park, where his 85th-minute winner proved the difference after Jamie Maclaren and Craig Goodwin had scored for their respective teams.
Adelaide United 0-0 Melbourne City
May 18, 2022. Coopers Stadium.
Adelaide and City played out a tense scoreless stalemate in the opening leg of their semi-final in South Australia. Andrew Nabbout hit the woodwork, while Adelaide had a penalty claim waved away as neither side could find the back of the net.
TIP
City will have to do something they haven’t done before this season – beat a team from the top four. It’s a sensitive subject for the titleholders and Adelaide will be buoyed by their last visit for Melbourne. However, City should have enough quality to make it back to the big dance.
MELBOURNE VICTORY V WESTERN UNITED
Melbourne Victory play host to Western United on Saturday afternoon, nursing a 1-0 lead at the midway point of this semi-final tie.
Tony Popovic’s side triumphed over Western in the first leg, with Jake Brimmer’s winning goal dispatched from outside the box one of the great finals series strikes.
Victory will be the home side to Western in leg two, a team renowned under head coach John Aloisi for taking early leads, and then controlling the remainder of the contest with an organised defensive structure which is hard to break down. On Saturday Western have no choice but to open up, get on the front foot and play expansive football in search of at least one goal to balance the ledger.
It’s this context heading into Saturday’s fixture which makes both Western and Victory’s respective approaches hard to predict as anticipation builds for a classic finals encounter.
Neither side had major injury concerns to report at the conclusion of leg one, but Western full-back Josh Risdon – who played his first 90-minute match in months after sustaining a syndesmosis ankle injury in March – will do well to back up and compete again. Victory winger Ben Folami was his direct opponent on Tuesday night; it was one of the battles of the game, along with Western winger Lachie Wales’ tussle with Victory’s Jason Davidson. Keep your eyes on either flank as potential areas for this semi-final tie to be won and lost on Saturday evening.
Popovic and Aloisi are two former Socceroos team-mates with history in tense finals battles. In 2016, Popovic’s Western Sydney Wanderers won 5-4 over Aloisi’s Brisbane Roar in an A-League Men finals classic. The following season the two sides met again, with Aloisi getting revenge in a penalty shoot-out Elimination Final triumph.
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KEY STATS
- Melbourne Victory are undefeated in their last five A-League Men games against Western United FC (W4, D1) after going winless in their five encounters in the competition prior (D1, L4); in fact, the Victory have not trailed Western at half-time in a game since July 2020.
- Victory are undefeated in their last 16 straight ALM games (W10, D6); only twice in the history of the competition has any team gone longer without a loss (Brisbane Roar FC – 36 games from 2010 to 2011; Sydney FC – 20 games from 2016 to 2017).
- Victory have won their last three straight A-League Men games; the last time they won more in succession was a six-game stretch from November to December in 2018 across which they kept three clean sheets.
- Victory are undefeated in their last nine league games at AAMI Park (W5, D4), keeping three clean sheets in their last four games at the venue, while Western will be aiming to avoid consecutive defeats at the venue for the first time since their first two games at the venue.
- Western are yet to concede a first-half goal in an ALM finals game, going on to keep two full clean sheets in their four post season games in the competition (W2, L2).
- Macarthur FC (6.7) are the only team to have made fewer passing sequences of 10+ passes per game this season than Victory (8.7) and Western (8.7); although, Western’s average sequence time (9.5 secs) is a full second longer than the Victory (8.5 secs).
- Western have given an average of 551 minutes of game time per game to players aged 30 or over on the day this season, with those players scoring 20 goals across the campaign; only Macarthur (590 minutes, 24 goals) rank higher in either category.
- Victory’s Leigh Broxham (19) is set to become just the second player in ALM history to play 20 finals games in the competition; only Alex Wilkinson (27) has played more.
- Jake Brimmer of the Victory has scored one goal in each of his last three ALM appearances – as well as making one assist – after having never scored in back-to-back games in all his 108 appearances in the competition prior.
- Western star Aleksandar Prijovic has made 26 headed shots at goal this A-League Men season, the most of any player, while team-mate Leo Lacroix (60) has made more headed clearances than any other player.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
Melbourne Victory: W – W – W – D – W
Make it a club-record 16 matches without defeat and counting for a Victory team hellbent on banishing their wooden spoon demons of last season. For all their attacking quality, Victory have been solid defensively, shipping just four goals in their last five outings.
Western United: L – W – L – D – L
Missing a number of key personnel, Western went toe-to-toe with Victory until Jake Brimmer settled the contest. Western have impressed this season but their recent form is cause for concern with just one won in five games.
HEAD-TO-HEAD THIS SEASON
Western United 0-1 Melbourne Victory
November 20, 2021. GMHBA Stadium.
Stand-in captain Roderick Miranda was the unlikely hero in Geelong, where the Popovic era kicked off with three points in the opening round. Miranda headed home in the 76th minute before Western skipper Alessandro Diamanti was denied a penalty six minutes later.
Melbourne Victory 3-1 Western United
December 26, 2021. AAMI Park.
Two goals in the space of two first-half minutes fuelled Victory’s win over Western in Melbourne. The Boxing Day clash saw Jason Geria and Josh Brillante find the back of the net in the 18th and 19th minutes. Aleksandar Prijovic pulled a goal back in the closing stages, however Nick D’Agostino sealed the win in stoppage time to send Victory top of the table.
Melbourne Victory 1-1 Western United
March 23, 2022. AAMI Park.
The points were shared in March after Brendan Hamill came to Victory’s rescue five minutes from the end of proceedings. Veteran defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley had opened the scoring two minutes into the second half and just as Western were heading towards a win, Victory centre-back Hamill equalised in the 85th minute.
Western United 0-1 Melbourne Victory
May 17, 2022. AAMI Park.
Jake Brimmer’s moment of individual brilliance settled the opening leg of the semi-final showdown. The match appeared to be petering out for a draw until the Victory star stepped up and volleyed past Jamie Young in memorable fashion.
TIP
Western have the most 1-0 wins this season but they’ll need more than that if they are to upstage the red-hot Victory back at AAMI Park. John Aloisi has worked wonders with Western, but Victory are a team on a mission and their season of redemption will continue to move forward in this tie.
