Arthur Diles’ Melbourne Victory are primed for Round 17 action in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The hosts are at AAMI Park for the first time this month, welcoming Brisbane Roar to Melbourne, as fifth plays eighth on Saturday, February 14, kick-off 5pm AEDT.
Victory return home after back-to-back away matches, most recently winning 2-3 in New Zealand against Wellington Phoenix last Friday.
This weekend’s fixture is Kids Round, headlined by the Skechers Victory Village and a post-match Kick To Kick on the pitch.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Diles previewed the opposition, who narrowly won the reverse fixture in Queensland.
“Look at all their players, (Justin) Vidic, Michael Ruhs, Daggers (Nicholas D’Agostino) and (Chris) Long, they’re all good players. They’re all quite direct, they’re quite powerful. They’re players that can pull you in behind, players that are aggressive, and you’ve got to be ready for that.
“Every team’s got their own threats, all over the park, and we’ve got to be ready for that.”
Diles provided some detail on the absence of the Round 16 match winner, Louis D’Arrigo, from the Club’s squad submission before advising that another midfielder will be unavailable for the Roar clash.
“Disappointing news about Louis, but then you’ve got to move on and support him when we need to, but keep building as a team. It’s his foot, so it’s an unfortunate injury. It’s not broken, but it’s not great. He’s in a boot, but we’re looking at probably four to six weeks.
“Reno’s picked up a knock today at training. So he’ll be out tomorrow. Nothing serious, we don’t think, but if he’s not 100%, then we can’t. Apart from that, everyone else is fit and healthy and ready to go.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
