Saturday’s second A-League Round 20 match is between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 7:45pm with the game to be played at AAMI Park. The home team Melbourne Victory are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United.
Round: Round 20, Saturday, February 22 at 7:45pm AEDT.
Stadium: AAMI Park
Head to head: Played 32: Wins: Victory 16, Adelaide 10, Draws 6
Previous encounter: Victory 3-0 Adelaide, November 23, 2013
Melbourne Victory $2.00 vs Adelaide United $3.50 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Melbourne Victory $2.10 vs Adelaide United $3.25 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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| Melbourne Victory | 2.00 | 2.10 | 2.10 | 2.10 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Draw | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.40 |
| Adelaide United | 3.50 | 3.40 | 3.25 | 3.40 | 3.50 | 3.40 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Melbourne Victory Squad:
1.Nathan COE (gk), 2.Pablo CONTRERAS, 3.Adama TRAORE, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5.Mark MILLIGAN (c), 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Gui FINKLER, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Andrew NABBOUT, 14.James TROISI, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Tom ROGIC, 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 24.Scott GALLOWAY, 25.Jason GERIA
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES (returns from injury), 11.Connor PAIN (promoted), 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk) (returns from injury), 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS (Promoted), 25.Jason GERIA (promoted)
Outs: 17.James JEGGO (omitted) 30.Keegan COULTER (gk) (Omitted), 23.Adrian LEIJER (facial fractures)
Unavailable: Nil
Adelaide United squad:
1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Jon McKAIN, 5.Osama MALIK, 7.JERONIMO, 8.ISAIAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.Cameron WATSON, 16.Daniel BOWLES, 17.Awer MABIL, 19.Jake BARKER-DAISH, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Jordan ELSEY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 21.Tarek ELRICH (returns from suspension), 19.Jake BARKER-DAISH (promoted), 16.Daniel BOWLES (promoted)
Outs: 18.Michael ZULLO (suspended- 1 week)
Unavailable: 6.CASSIO (hamstring tendon – indefinite), 15.Jacob MELLING (knee – 2 weeks), 31.Ryan GRIFFITHS (shin soreness – test)
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Victory: WWDLL
Adelaide: WWLDW
The Game:
Melbourne Victory may have just snuck through to the Asian Champions League group stage but confidence will be high.
The big V overturned a half-time deficit to edge Thai giants Muangthong United 2-1 at Simonds Stadium on Saturday night.
Victory will now feature in the group stages of Asia’s premier club competition for a fourth time in their short history, lining up alongside Marcello Lippi’s Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande, J-League runners-up Yokohama F.
Marinos and Korean outfit Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Saturday’s successful night in Geelong ensured back-to-back wins for Victory in all competitions.
Brazilian playmaker and often super-sub this season, Gui Finkler, is expected to return to the squad after being left out for the Asian Champions League qualifier.
His return may be a welcome addition for Victory, who will face a stern test against one of the competition’s in-form teams.
Adelaide have only lost one match since their 2-1 loss at home to league-leading Brisbane in December, collecting 21 points from 30 to jump up to third on the table, ahead of Victory on goal difference.
Former Chelsea man Fabio Ferreira has been a key figure behind Adelaide’s resurgence, netting four goals in six games.
The big issue:
Victory – Pablo Contreras. The veteran Chilean defender, capped 67 times by the national team, has fast become a liability at the heart of Victory’s defence.
Only cross-town rivals Heart (30) have conceded more goals than Kevin Muscat’s men, who have shipped a whopping 29 in just 19 games.
And Contreras, Victory’s marquee man, has played a big part as the club’s defensive frailties continue to be exposed. The 35-year-old was fortunate not to give away a penalty against reigning champions Central Coast in Gosford just over a week ago after lunging in recklessly.
He was at it again in Geelong midweek and Muscat will be hoping the former Olympiacos defender has his head screwed on right against the high-flying Reds.
Adelaide – Can the Reds finally get the better of Victory in Melbourne?
Josep Gombau’s troops are unbeaten in three matches against the dual A-League champions but it is in Melbourne where their problems lie.
Victory ran out 3-0 winners in the pair’s most recent encounter at Etihad Stadium earlier this season.
That result extended their winless streak against Victory in Melbourne to four games, with their last triumph coming in the form of a 4-1 thumping back in 2011.
Indonesian international Sergio van Dijk was the star of the show that day, bagging a brace as Victory ended the game with 10 men following Muscat’s dismissal.
The game breaker:
James Troisi – The 25-year-old is back firing on all cylinders.
After eight games without a goal, Troisi finally found the back of the net at Bluetongue Stadium, scoring twice to take his A-League season tally to nine goals, making him the competition’s leading scorer alongside Stein Huysegems, Adam Taggart and David Williams.
The former Newcastle United youngster backed up that performance with a scintillating display in Geelong.
Troisi buzzed around the pitch throughout the 90 minutes, scoring the all-important equaliser. If he wasn’t on Ange Postecoglou’s radar already, he is now. And it would be no surprise if he was to add to his nine international caps at this year’s World Cup.
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au