Melbourne Victory will take on fellow promotion challengers Northcote City this Sunday at Epping Stadium.
Joe Palatsides’ side have reached the halfway point of the VPL1 season with their undefeated streak still intact.
Last week’s 4-4 draw with Western United means that Victory have now played every other team in the division, without suffering a defeat.
The game against Western though proved to be one of Victory’s toughest tests of the season.
A remarkable back and forth game, Victory came from behind twice in the first half alone, with goals from Fabian Monge, Luka Kolić and Adem Duratović making the score line 3-3 at the half-time break.
However, Victory would be required to mount a third comeback, when a Western United goal early in the second half made the score 4-3.
Despite trailing for the majority of the second 45, Eli Adams stood up in the crucial moment, driving home a brilliant free-kick in the final 10 minutes to equalise at 4-4 and secure his team a point.
As a result, Victory head into this weekend with a six point lead on top of the VPL1 ladder.
Northcote City though will pose another substantial test.
Northcote have lost only one of their last 10 league games, propelling themselves into third position on the ladder.
As such, Steve Bebic’s team can make a major impact on the promotion race with a win this Sunday.
Northcote’s last two games have both ended in draws, first against Langwarrin SC, and then against Bulleen Lions.
Victory and Northcote played in the very first round of the 2024 season, where Victory ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Adem Duratović, Luka Kolić and Jesse Hoey.
A similar result on Sunday would go a long way in Victory’s hunt for promotion.
The game will kick-off at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoon, with Football Victoria also planning to livestream the game on their YouTube page.
