Melbourne Victory visit Wellington Phoenix in Matchweek 1 of the A-League Men.
Giovanni Savarese’s men, playing their third match in nine days, start their 2026/27 season across the ditch at Hnry Stadium on Sunday, October 18, kick-off 1:00pm AEDT.
The second of these recent outings yielded a valuable three points on Match Day 2 of Victory’s AFC Champions League Two Group E campaign, when FC Seoul were beaten 3-0 in Victoria on Wednesday night.
Supporters can watch the A-League opener versus the Phoenix, who are celebrating the start of their 20th season by facing the opposition from their first-ever match, live on Paramount+
The Boys in Blue
Melbourne Victory begins its 22nd season at a venue that has proven a happy hunting ground in the last two campaigns, recording 2-3 wins in April 2025 and as recently as February.
A repeat of that outcome would, of course, be a very welcome start, but expect Head Coach, Giovanni Savarese, to want the bonus of a clean sheet as he balances producing a hard-to-beat shell with letting the shackles off his attacking fliers.
This happy and successful medium was struck during the to-nil win over FC Seoul midweek, as the Boys in Blue responded in the best possible way to their cruel 2026 Hahn Australia Cup Final defeat.
And the quick turnaround, after Savarese has been loyal to the team that started each cup tie, saw him shuffle his pack, with four of the five off-season signings – Guillermo May, Harry Sawyer, Harry Shillington and Philipp Ziereis – named in his XI to top up the minutes in a worthwhile and winning exercise before jetting to New Zealand.
The only absentee for the away clash is midfielder Louis D’Arrigo, as he works his way back from a minor muscle injury.
MW1 squad: 1. Jack WARSHAWSKY, 3. Jason DAVIDSON, 4. Philipp ZIEREIS, 5. Brendan HAMILL, 8. Jordi VALADON, 9. Harrison SAWYER, 10. Denis GENREAU, 11. Clerismario SANTOS RODRIGUES, 14. Matthew GRIMALDI, 15. Thomas LOCKYER, 16. Joshua INSERRA, 18. Franco LINO, 21. Guillermo MAY, 22. Xavier STELLA, 23. Keegan JELACIC, 25. Jack DUNCAN, 26. Jack MIHAILIDIS, 29. Michael GHOSSAINI, 36. Harrison SHILLINGTON, 44. Charles NDUKA
Ins: N/A
Outs: N/A
Unavailable: 6. Louis D’ARRIGO (injury).
Last time out
Three goals and three points were the perfect way for Melbourne Victory to welcome ACL Two football to Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
After an opening 45 where neither the hosts nor FC Seoul enjoyed any particular dominance, Giovanni Savarese’s side raced away in the second half to build on their Match Day 1 draw away to Thể Công–Viettel.
Guillermo May netted his first sporting Victory colours to get the ball rolling before Santos’ second of the Group Stage provided breathing room that was enlarged by an excellent Jordi Valadon finish in the closing stages.
Wellington Phoenix, no longer a participant in the Australia Cup, suffered their fourth straight defeat of a pre-season campaign that has comprised seven friendly matches.
Chris Greenacre’s team were beaten 2-0 by Macarthur FC, making it 16 goals conceded in matches versus A-League Men’s counterparts, after defeats to Western Sydney Wanderers, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
All Whites goalkeeper Henry Gray, signed from Ipswich Town, started in goal, but another recruit, former Macarthur man Rafael Durán, did not travel to New South Wales, having recently become a father.
