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Melbourne City made short work of the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, destroying their opponents 5-1.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Wellington Phoenix 1
Melbourne City 5
Both the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City are looking to bounce back from winless streaks this afternoon as the race for finals spots continues to heat up towards the pointy end of the season. Join The Roar from 5:35pm (AEDT) for all the live scores, highlights and action.
Wellington have had a tumultuous season so far but are still well within range of a finals berth despite a shaky past month of A-League action.
Just two points separate sixth place from ninth and a win today would see the eighth-placed Phoenix sneak into the finals equation ahead of the Wanderers.
Wellington are winless from their last four games, including three defeats and a draw, but their home ground advantage won’t give them any reprieve either.
They’ve won just two of their last six games at home in New Zealand in what has been a very rough start to 2017.
City aren’t faring much better.
After a ripper start to the campaign, looking like the only side likely to challenge Sydney FC at the top of the standings, Melbourne City have tumbled down the standings in the second half of the season.
They’re winless in their last three and have just one victory from their previous five games.
City have dropped down to fourth below the Brisbane Roar and are a long way out of touch from cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory.
A win today will put that back up into third, but a loss by more than two goals could see them drop below Perth into fifth.
Team News
This week City welcome back a host of players from suspension, six in total, as they boost their squad with a big chunk of key players.
The Melbourne front line will be stacked with the return of star players Tim Cahill, Bruno Fornaroli and feisty Argentine Fernando Brandan, all from suspensions.
Also coming back from a forced break for John van’t Schip’s side will be Manny Muscat, Osama Malik and Luke Brattan.
With so many returns, there’s a host of omissions for the light blue Melbourne side.
Daniel Arzani, Braeydn Crowley, Christian Cavallo and Yusuf Ahmed have all been dropped from the squad.
The Phoenix have been impacted by suspensions as well coming into this week.
Gui Finkler and Andrew Durante have copped one-week bans and will miss today’s key match up, but Wellington will welcome back Kiwi international Shane Smeltz from suspension.
Marco Rossi comes back from injury for the home side, while Adam Parkhouse and Sarpreet Singh come into an extended squad.
Prediction
It’s a key game for both sides. City to keep their spot in the top four and try to push back up towards the top, and for the Phoenix to make the finals at all among a tough four-way race for the last place in the top six.
Melbourne have won five of their last six against Wellington and have been the better side most of the season.
They’ll also be bolstered by massive returns across the entire pitch and filled with confidence. Wellington will be in for a tough fight in this one and might fall at home once again.
Melbourne to win 3-1
Join The Roar from 5:35pm (AEDT) for all the live scores, highlights and action.
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