Match details
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Kick-off: 7.45pm AEDT
Preview
Melbourne Victory is aiming to retain top spot in the Isuzu UTE A-League when Adelaide United visit AAMI Park on Saturday.
Victory and the Reds will meet for the second time in four days after Tony Popovic’s side won the FFA Cup Quarter Final clash between the teams in Adelaide.
A Josh Brillante equaliser and Francesco Margiotta penalty in the second half sent Victory into the Semi Finals, where the Wellington Phoenix await.
It marked a second straight 2-1 win in Adelaide over the Reds for Victory.
Brillante got on the end of another Jake Brimmer set-piece for the equaliser, while Margiotta came off the bench to score the winner.
Brimmer was also involved in the winning goal, passing to the Italian, whose strike led to a handball and the spot-kick.
All three of Brimmer’s assists in the Isuzu UTE A-League this season have come from set-pieces, with only one player – team-mate Marco Rojas – having registered more total assists in the competition.
Victory is top of the table, level on points with Macarthur, after six games this season, and unbeaten in five games in all competitions.
Matt Acton is in the Isuzu UTE A-League squad for the first time this season after recovering from a back injury.
Adelaide sits seventh on the table, with one win from six games in the league this campaign.
Player in focus
Margiotta has made a fine start to his Victory career. The Italian is up to three goals this season – including two against Adelaide – as he settles in Melbourne.
What they said
“It’s quite strange (playing the same opponent again), that doesn’t happen often, but they’re two different competitions. A cup game is obviously unique because it’s a one off game so it’s a different type of match. Obviously, we’re delighted to go through, winning away from home, coming from behind, but we know that this will be completely different. Yes, same set of players, but the league is always a different type of game so we’ve got to focus on the three points at hand, we’re playing at home, we’re playing the Derby so hopefully we get the good support behind us and we can get another three important points tomorrow.” – Victory Head Coach Popovic.
Last time
FFA Cup 2021 Quarter Final
Adelaide United 1-2 Melbourne Victory
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Coopers Stadium, Melbourne
Victory and Adelaide met in the cup on Wednesday.
Craig Goodwin’s free-kick was cancelled out by Brillante before Margiotta’s 79th-minute penalty.
Head to head
Quarter Final, 2021 FFA Cup: Adelaide 1-2 Victory at Coopers Stadium
Round 4, 2021/22: Adelaide 1-2 Victory at Coopers Stadium
Round 22, 2020/21: Victory 0-1 Adelaide at AAMI Park
Round 12, 2020/21: Victory 1-3 Adelaide at Marvel Stadium
Round 5, 2020/21: Adelaide 1-0 Victory at Coopers Stadium
