Melbourne Victory has added two players to an extended squad for Saturday night’s highly anticipated Melbourne Derby at AAMI Park.
New Zealand international Marco Rojas returns from injury, while Stefan Nigro has been promoted for the Round 11 clash.
Rojas missed last week’s 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers with a hamstring complaint.
Mitch Austin, who was hopeful of returning from an ankle injury, has been given another week to recover, while George Howard (knee) remains a fortnight away.
Victory is third on the Hyundai A-League ladder with a game in hand, one point behind second-placed City.
Victory is also unbeaten in its past four outings with three wins and a draw, while City heads into the match on the back of two straight draws.
In 20 Hyundai A-League editions of the Derby, Victory holds the upper hand with eight wins and five draws.
Tickets for Saturday night’s Derby are available here. As it is an away match for Victory, Victory members are required to purchase a ticket to secure entry.
Hyundai A-League 2016/17 Round 11
City v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, December 17, 7.50pm AEDT
AAMI Park, Melbourne
TV: Live on Fox Sports 505 from 7.30pm AEDT
Radio: 774 ABC Melbourne, ABC Local Radio Vic, A-League Live via the ABC Radio app, ABC Grandstand Digital, SEN 1116, EON Sports Radio
Online: Join the conversation on social media using #MelbDerby
Melbourne Victory squad (two to be omitted): 2.Jason GERIA, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Marco ROJAS, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Max BEISTER, 10.James TROISI, 13.Oliver BOZANIC, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 15.Alan BARO, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.James DONACHIE, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Stefan NIGRO, 23.Jai INGHAM, 40.Matt ACTON (gk)
Ins: 7.Marco ROJAS (returns from injury), 22.Stefan NIGRO (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 11.Mitch AUSTIN (ankle – 1 week), 19.George HOWARD (knee – 2 weeks), 27.Alastair BRAY (gk) (shoulder – 4-5 months)
