The Melbourne Derby takes centre stage in Round 11 of the Hyundai A-League as City host Victory at AAMI Park. Here’s what you need to know.
FIXTURE HISTORY AND FORM
After playing second fiddle to their neighbours for a few years, City has turned the tide in head-to-head clashes between the two.
John van ‘t Schip’s men are unbeaten in their last three derbies in the Hyundai A-League, winning two of those, including a 4-1 drubbing in Round 2.
And if you include their Westfield FFA Cup semi-final in October, it’s three wins from four for City.
AAMI Park has also proved to be a happy hunting ground for City in this fixture, unbeaten in their last five against Victory at the venue in all competitions.
When it comes to current form, both sides go into this one in excellent touch.
City are unbeaten in their last five matches in the Hyundai A-League – their longest unbeaten run in over two years.
Victory have lost just one of their last seven matches in the league, and have won their last three matches played on a Saturday, scoring eight goals and conceding none.
GOAL SCORERS AND SHOT ACCURACY
The battle between the side’s main strikers could go a long way to determining who comes out on top.
Victory’s Besart Berisha currently sits at the top of the Hyundai A-League golden boot standings with eight, one ahead of City skipper Bruno Fornaroli.
And the Albanian (with 89 career A-League goals) is chasing history, needing just one more goal to draw level with Victory legend Archie Thompson as the competition’s greatest-ever scorer.
But Fornaroli has bossed this fixture recently. “El Tuna” has scored four goals in his last four Melbourne Derbies, including three in the last two.
These two sides are also the best when it comes to conversion rate in the Hyundai A-League.
Victory boasts the best shot conversion rate with 22.7% of their shots at goal finding the back of the net. City (19.8%) is the second most effective in this respect.
CARDS AND FOULS
Like most derbies, there has been plenty of feeling between these two, especially this season.Â
Matches involving City in the 2016/17 Season have seen the most number of fouls.
City is not only the most fouled side in the Hyundai A-League (177), they also lead the competition for fouls conceded with 187.Â
In comparison, Victory has won 156 fouls and conceded just 152.
The two sides are also at opposite ends of the table when it comes to their disciplinary record.
With 29 yellow cards and one red, City has accumulated the most disciplinary points in the competition (32), while Victory have received the least (17) with just 17 yellow cards shown to their players from their nine matches.
