Arthur Diles is excited for a landmark fixture in the Melbourne Victory diary.
Original Rivalry battle lines are set to be redrawn this weekend, when the clubs of South Australia and Victoria do battle on Saturday, January 17, kick-off 7:35pm AEDT.
Victory head interstate clutching the bragging rights, having prevailed 2-1 thanks to a Nikos Vergos double in December’s reverse fixture at AAMI Park.
That success kick-started a four-game winning charge for the Boys in Blue, an effort that was ended by Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Diles talked about the fixture’s meaning for players, staff and supporters before taking a look at how the opposition are shaping up.
“It’s one of the best games on the calendar in the A-league. It’s a fantastic occasion for all involved. It’ll be a massive crowd. There’ll be a lot of energy. We’ll have a lot of travelling fans, which always makes it really nice.
“But Adelaide is a good team with good players, and you know, they had a good result last week away in tricky conditions there in Wellington. So you know they’ll be up for it. We’ll be up for it, and we’re looking forward to a top match.”
Backed by big travelling numbers in the stands, Victory and Diles are light on a few regulars for the contest at Coopers Stadium.
Jason Davidson is suspended, having received a fifth yellow card of the Campaign versus Western Sydney, and Captain, Roderick Miranda remains sidelined with a leg complaint.
The Head Coach does, however, have both Reno Piscopo and Franco Lino available for selection.
“Roddy’s still injured from the other week. BJ (Brendan Hamill) is still progressing; there is the suspension of Jason Davidson. Everyone else is fit and healthy
“I think Reno’s got more in him again. We will wait and see what happens and how the game unfolds – he’s ready to go.
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
