Arthur Diles is expecting Melbourne Victory to enjoy more home advantage when they host Wellington Phoenix.
The Isuzu UTE A-League Round 10 fixture is the Men’s First Team’s last of 2025, and the third in a sequence of five successive AAMI Park outings, the first two of which have delivered three-point returns.
Victory triumphed in their Original Rivalry clash with Adelaide United earlier this month before taking Melbourne Derby bragging rights a week later, thanks to Matt Grimaldi’s late winner.
At full-time of each fixture, the on-field celebrations were shared with supporters inside the stadium, and the Head Coach singled out the ’12th man’ for their unwavering contribution.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Diles detailed the tangible and positive difference Victory’s faithful make on match day.
“We want to fill this place, we want to get as many fans as possible. We encourage all our fans to get out there and watch this game and get behind the team, because in the end, the more fans we have in there, they’re our 12th man.
“It’s a real home-ground advantage for us. The players love playing there, so the more noise we can make in there, the better it is for the team.
“It’s a great energy around the place at the moment, the players are in a really good place, a good head space. Belief has always been there, but obviously, off the back of two wins, it also brings that extra confidence, which is important.”
Wellington, managed by Giancarlo Italiano, were also on the winning side ahead of Christmas, prevailing 3-1 at home to Central Coast Mariners to snap a two-game losing streak.
They are, though, still searching for a first road win of the 2025/26 season, and last claimed an away maximum in early April, but Diles is not taking the visitors lightly.
“Wellington is a tricky side. They’re robust, they’re resilient, and they’ve got good individual players that can hurt you. So you have got to take precautions, make sure we stop their strengths and make sure we find their weaknesses and exploit them as best as we can.
“But in the end, the most important thing is that we’re a better team than we were last week and the week before.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
