Melbourne Victory forward Kosta Barbarouses anticipates a potentially decisive Melbourne Derby on Friday night to be laced with plenty of spice.
Victory will close to within one point of their rivals if they come away with a win at AAMI Park.
And Barbarouses, who has notched seven goals this term, expects the high stakes to result in a heated affair.
“Absolutely,” the New Zealand international replied when asked if “spite” would be involved.
“We have one game each [in derbies this season].
“It’s all to play for, you probably couldn’t have written a better script for this game.
“We need three points and we’re going to do everything we can to get them.”
The contest could be determined by how the Victory defence handles City captain Bruno Fornaroli, who is in contention for his first start of the season.
The fit-again Fornaroli has scored four goals in six appearances in this fixture and key Victory stopper Rhys Williams is prepared for a tough assignment.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played centre-half against him so it’s going to be a good test,” Williams said.
“Obviously he won’t be 100% but he’s still a brilliant player.
“You want to play against these players and I’m looking forward to it.”
