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Melbourne Victory
1
Match Complete
Wellington Phoenix
1
| O. Toivonen |  | 77' | ||
| 68' |  | T. Doyle | ||
| 62' | | D. Williams | ||
| L. Broxham | | 51' | ||
| 48' | | A. Rufer | ||
| 19' | | S. Singh | ||
| 16' | | L. Fenton |
| 20 | Shots | 12 | ||
| 6 | On Target | 3 | ||
| 17 | Fouls | 19 | ||
| 6 | Corners | 2 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 2 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
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The Melbourne Victory will attempt to temporarily move to the top of the A-League ladder when they host the surprising Wellington Phoenix to kick-off Round 10. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).
The Victory find themselves sitting in second position as they try to defend the championship they won last year, and have got their season off to a solid start.
Out of their first nine games, they have taken 19 points with six victories and a draw. It came after a slightly slow first couple of games, but with the exception of a one-all draw last time out in the Melbourne Derby, they have been faultless in their last six games.
In that time, the Victory have recorded victories over the Brisbane Roar, Adelaide United, Sydney FC, the Western Sydney Wanderers, the Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets in the grand final re-match.
Their one-all draw last week against City was frustrating, but they should be able to welcome back both Keisuke Honda and Raul Baena from injury for this clash, and at home, it leaves them red-hot favourites against one of the competition’s surprise packets.
The Phoenix have now won three on the trot against the Roar, Mariners and Sydney FC, with the first of those against the Sky Blues being particularly impressive on the road.
Wellington might have struggled last year (and others), but they are all but a distant memory with the club now sitting fifth and pushing for finals action at the end of the season if they can keep things rolling.
Like the Victory, they have a significant return with Michal Kopzcynski back from injury, but then, dealing with Honda, Ola Toivonen and co. in the dominant Victory midfield and forward line will be a serious problem for Wellington, who themselves have been dangerous up front.
The visitors have scored nine goals in their last three games, and playing an up-tempo, pressing style is probably going to be their best chance of catching the Victory out, with most of their scoring chances likely to come on the break.
Prediction
I’d expect the Victory to win this at home, but the Phoenix aren’t going to go down without a substantial fight given their recent form. Expect this to be entertaining.
Victory 3 – Phoenix 2.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Friday night A-League fixture from 7:50pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Kick-off: 7:50pm (AEDT)
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Melbourne Victory (squad)
1. Matt Acton (GK), 20. Lawrence Thomas (GK), 2. Storm Roux, 3. Corey Brown, 4. Keisuke Honda, 6. Leigh Broxham, 7. Kenny Athiu, 8. Terry Antonis, 9. Kosta Barbarouses, 10. James Troisi, 11. Ola Toivonen, 13. Birkan Kirdar, 14. Tommy Deng, 15. Raul Baena, 16. Josh Hope, 19. Rahmat Akbari, 21. Carl Valeri (c), 22. Nick Ansell
Wellington Phoenix (squad)
1. Filip Kurto (GK), 20. Oliver Sail (GK), 4. Mandi Sosa, 5. Ryan Lowry, 6. Dylan Fox, 8. Mitch Nichols, 9. Nathan Burns, 11. David Williams, 13. Liberato Cacace, 14. Alex Rufer, 15. Michal Kopzcynski, 16. Louis Fenton, 18. Sarpreet Singh, 19. Tom Doyle, 21. Roy Krishna, 22. Andrew Durante (c), 23. Max Burgess, 27. Steven Taylor
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