Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City: A-League match result

Match result:

Despite a few goalscoring chances here and there and a few tense moments in the end for both teams, the latest iteration of the Melbourne Derby won’t live long in the memory as a nil-all draw is the result.

Both teams really struggled to create quality in the final third although Victory were denied the opener because of a VAR call for offside.

Wales had a chance for City in the first half but failed to capitalise and missed chances pretty much sums up these dour contest.

Final score
Melbourne Victory 0
Melbourne City 0

Match preview:

Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City clash at Marvel Stadium as two title contenders go head to head in what should be another pulsating derby. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:30pm AEDT.

A new A-League season is upon which means another season of high expectations to fulfill for two Melbourne teams with the talent required to dislodge Sydney FC from their premiership perch and secure the A-league championship.

Victory made the preliminary finals last season, only to be destroyed by Sydney FC who went on to defeat Perth Glory in the final. City meanwhile suffered a first-week finals exit – a result that is below par for a strong squad.

A new season however brings with it new hope and optimism and what better way to further fuel that fire then by securing three points in the local Melbourne derby.

Managers Marco Kurz (Victory) and Erick Mombaerts (City) are no doubt very keen to get the season up and running with a win to secure bragging rights, and most importantly, much needed momentum early in the season.

Both teams are not without their issues however. Socceroos star Robbie Kruse has been ruled out for Victory, while Jamie Maclaren is also missing from City’s squad.

Victory do possess Swedish star Ola Toivonen – who has been influential in six of Victory’s last nine goals scored.

That should be expected from a forward with experience at the highest level, having scored against Germany in last year’s World Cup.

City though have depth on their own upfront headlined by Craig Noone. Youth international Connor Metcalfe, tipped by many to be the competition’s breakout star in 2019/20, could also be brought into the forward line, while Moudi Najjar and Ramy Najjarine also highlighted by the City coach.

But the real wildcard could be to deploy Uruguayan import Adrian Luna as a false nine.

Overall, both sides have always been traditionally strong in attack, so tonight’s contest should feature at least three goals.

In terms of picking a victor, perhaps City are under more pressure to prove their worth given that Victory have already secured championships in the past.

Prediction
With this in mind, City need to make a statement tonight against a title contender and by doing so, lay the platform for a strong push for a maiden A-League title. The stage is set for another memorable derby and City with the right composure should be able to secure a good win.

City to win 2-1

Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Marvel Stadium
Betting: Victory $2.40, Draw $3.50, City $3.00

Melbourne Victory
2.Storm ROUX, 3.Corey BROWN, 4.James DONACHIE, 5.Tim HOOGLAND, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 11.Ola TOIVONEN (c), 14.Thomas DENG, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 22.Kristijan DOBRAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 26.Jay BARNETT, 30.Matthew SUTTON (gk) **2-4 to be omitted**

Melbourne City
1.Tom GLOVER, 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 3.Scott JAMIESON, 4.Harrison DELBRIDGE, 6.Josh BRILLANTE, 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 8.Javier CABRERA, 10.Florin BERENGUER, 11.Craig NOONE, 13.Nathniel ATKINSON, 19.Lachlan WALES, 20.Adrian LUNA, 21.Ramy NAJJARINE, 22.Curtis GOOD, 23.Dean BOUZANIS, 30.Moudi NAJJAR, 34.Connor METCALFE, 35.Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 40.Richard WINDBICHLER, 49.Stefan COLAKOVSKI **2-4 to be omitted**