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Wellington Phoenix
1
Match Complete
Melbourne Victory
1
| 79' |  | S. Roux | ||
| 73' | | J. Donachie | ||
| 67' |  | K. Honda | ||
| R. Krishna | | 57' | ||
| A. Rufer | | 51' | ||
| 32' | | K. Barbarouses |
| 18 | Shots | 19 | ||
| 4 | On Target | 5 | ||
| 17 | Fouls | 12 | ||
| 13 | Corners | 12 | ||
| 0 | Offsides | 1 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
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The A-League heads to Auckland at the beginning of Round 19, with an intriguing Friday night fixture seeing the Wellington Phoenix host the Melbourne Victory at Eden Park. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5:35pm (AEDT).
The Phoenix find themselves in an intriguing situation at the moment, and this home game could be crucial for the club in moving a step closer to a finals berth.
They sit sixth after 18 rounds of action, and despite their being nine games to go for all clubs, many pundits are starting to think the top six is already locked in.
Their draw last week away from home against the Newcastle Jets was huge, especially considering the Jets are seventh and a win would have shut the gap to just five points.
Alas, it didn’t happen and the Phoenix are sitting pretty comfortably.
Wellington have sometimes struggled in front of goals this year, and that’s reflected in just having 25 goals in 18 games, but they do have potential on the pitch, led by Roy Krishna.
He will have to be on fire against the Victory with pace to burn on the wing if they are to break down one of the best defences in the competition, led by Georg Niedermeier and former Socceroo Carl Valeri.
While the Victory’s defence has been good, their 40 goals are the real reason they sit atop the A-League table. Their attack has been explosive at the worst of times, and that’s with Keisuke Honda injured for a fair chunk of time.
Honda, along with Ola Toivonen and Kosta Barbarouses are the most dangerous attacking line in the league, and if the Wellington defence – as good as it’s been – aren’t at their absolute best with Filip Kurto having a blinder in goals, then the scoreline could rack up, because the Victory will almost certainly dominate possession if they are anywhere near their best.
Even with that top three though, they did go down to the Perth Glory 2-1 in a nailbiter last Sunday.
That being said, it’ll be all about the counter-attack for Wellington and again, the pace of players like Krishna, the in-form David Williams and attacking midfielder Sarpreet Singh if they are to get on the board and give this game a real shake.
Prediction
It’s a tough game to tip this. The Victory have weapons all over the park and that’s proven on the table, but they might be a bit sluggish to start on the road. I tend to think the Phoenix might burst out to a lead, then get reigned in with the sides sharing the points at the end of 90 minutes.
Phoenix 2 – Victory 2.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 5:35pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment throughout the course of the coverage.
Kick-off: 5:35pm (AEDT)
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
TV: Live, Fox Sports 505
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel now, Kayo Sports, My Football app
Betting: Victory $2, Phoenix $3.25, draw $3.75
Overall record: Played 20, Victory 12, Phoenix 6, draw 2
Referee: Peter Green
Wellington Phoenix (squad)
1. Filip Kurto (GK), 20. Oliver Sail (GK), 4. Mandi Sosa, 5. Ryan Lowry, 6. Dylan Fox, 7. Cillian Sheridan, 9. Nathan Burns, 11. David Williams, 12. Antony Golec, 13. Liberato Cacace, 14. Alex Rufer, 15. Michal Kopczynski, 16. Louis Fenton, 18. Sarpreet Singh, 21. Roy Krishna, 22. Andrew Durante, 23. Max Burgess, 27. Steven Taylor
Melbourne Victory (squad)
1.Matt Acton (GK), 20.Lawrence Thomas (GK), 2.Storm Roux, 3.Corey Brown, 4. Keisuke Honda, 5. Georg Niedermeier, 6.Leigh Broxham, 7.Kenny Athiu, 9.Kosta Barbarouses, 10.James Troisi, 14.Tommy Deng, 15.Raul Baena, 16.Josh Hope, 17. James Donachie, 19. Rahmat Akbari, 24.Elvis Kamsoba, 25.Anthony Lesiotis
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