The first game on Saturday for A-League Round 11 is between Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 7.45pm with the game to be played at AAMI Park. The favourite for the match is away team Melbourne Victory. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory.
Round: Round 11, Saturday December 21 at 7.45pm AEDT.
Stadium: AAMI Park
Head to head: Played: 10, Wins: Heart 3, Victory 3, Draws: 4
Previous encounter: Victory 0-0 Heart, October 12 2013
Melbourne Heart $4.00 vs Melbourne Victory $1.91 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Melbourne Heart $3.95 vs Melbourne Victory $1.85 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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 |
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| Melbourne Heart | 4.00 | 4.25 | 3.95 | 4.25 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Draw | 3.60 | 3.65 | 3.50 | 3.65 | 3.60 | 3.50 |
| Melbourne Victory | 1.91 | 1.80 | 1.85 | 1.80 | 1.91 | 1.83 |
Teams:
Melbourne Heart:
1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3. Robbie WIELAERT, 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. Harry KEWELL, 11.Michael MIFSUD, 14. Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15. David WILLIAMS 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 19. Ben GARUCCIO, 20. Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21. Stefan MAUK, 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC, 24. Patrick KISNORBO, 25. Andrea MIGLIORINI (Two to be omitted)
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 4. Orlando ENGELAAR (Fractured tibia – 5-9 weeks), 13. Jonatan GERMANO (Calf – 5 weeks)
Melbourne Victory:
1. Nathan COE (GK), 2. Pablo CONTRERAS, 3. Adama TRAORE, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5. Mark MILLIGAN, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7. Gui FINKLER, 9. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10. Archie THOMPSON, 11. Connor PAIN, 13. Andrew NABBOUT, 14. James TROISI, 15. Mitch NICHOLS, 16. Rashid MAHAZI, 20. Lawrence THOMAS (GK), 23. Adrian LEIJER, 24, Scott GALLOWAY. 25, Jason GERIA (two to be omitted)
Ins: 10. Archie THOMPSON, 24. Scott GALLOWAY
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Heart: LDDLL
Victory: WLDWL
The Game:
Derbies are rarely one-sided affairs and despite Melbourne Heart’s bottom-of-the-table status, the Victory will be expecting a testing and feisty encounter on Saturday night. The Heart looked promising in keeping a clean sheet in round one, but their form has been woeful since as the pressure on coach John Aloisi has increased. Under Aloisi, the Heart have won just eight of 37 games, including none in 10 this season. Kevin Muscat is coaching in a Melbourne Derby for the first time after taking over from Australia boss Ange Postecoglou. His Victory team create more than enough chances and should expect to take all three points.
The big issue:
Heart – easing the pressure on under-fire coach Aloisi. The former Socceroo’s record at the helm has been poor with just 21.6 per cent of those matches finishing in Heart wins. A good performance and a draw might be enough, but a victory is what the Heart desperately need. Heart chief Scott Munn refused to guarantee Aloisi his future in the lead up to the clash and his team need to start performing far better than they have so far this campaign. They have the league’s worst attack and defence heading into the encounter.
Victory – converting their dominance of possession into goals like they did – just – against Perth on Friday night. Muscat’s men had a season-high 23 shots in their 2-0 win over the Glory, bettering the mark of 21 they set the week prior. Opta stats suggest the Victory have created the most ‘big chances’ in the league this season, but their conversion ranks seventh. Those numbers suggest there is plenty of room for improvement in the Victory and if they do start making the most of their opportunities, they could seriously threaten the competition’s top sides.
The game breaker:
Mitch Nichols – the attacking midfielder has enjoyed a solid campaign playing as one of the two number 10s in the Victory’s system. James Troisi has contributed more goals, but Nichols leads the Victory for assists this campaign with three. The former Brisbane Roar attacker can break games open with his movement and clever passes and can,
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au