Match Details:
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
Date: Saturday 30 December
Time: Kick-off: 7:45pm (AEDT)
Location: AAMI Park, Melbourne
PREVIEW
Last week’s Derby result was enough to extend Victory’s unbeaten start to the season to nine games, with another huge clash against Adelaide United now coming up to close out 2023.
Looking ahead to Saturday night’s Original Rivalry, Head Coach Tony Popovic said he can’t wait to be in front of the home fans again.
“We’re back with a home game, home fans and we want to bring back that good attacking play and combinations in and around the box that we’ve shown in previous matches,” he said.
“We’re excited about our fans and members being here and giving us the support that we’ve seen so far. And we’ve got a very good record at home and we want that to continue.”
Speaking on United, Popovic emphasised how important defensive structure is going to be.
“Ibusuki is a very good striker, strong in the air and young Jovanović runs off him very well,” he said.
“They (Adelaide) played a little bit different (last week) with some wingers that were more tucked in, but they reverted to their normal ways in the second half with the wingers out wide. We understand they could play either way and we just need to be prepared to understand what we need to do if that happens.”
Speaking on Adama Traore’s absence, Popovic re-affirmed that the defender healthy and just following concussion protocol.
“He’s (Adama) obviously got to follow the protocol, but he’s tracking very well. We don’t envisage any further delays than the actual protocol that he has to follow, so we expect him to be available for Perth.”
It’s been a mixed history against United with each of the last three A-League Men’s games between Victory and Adelaide United ending in a 1-all draw on the day; the last time either team won this fixture was a 3-0 win to Adelaide United in November 2022.
FROM TONY
LAST TIME
Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United
November 4, 2023
AAMI Park, Melbourne
HEAD TO HEAD
2022/23 (Feb 26): Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United
2022/23 (Jan 14): Adelaide United 1-1 Melbourne Victory
2022/23 (Nov 11): Adelaide United 3-0 Melbourne Victory
2021/22 (Apr 2) Adelaide United 0-1 Melbourne Victory
2021/22 (Jan 8) Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United
SQUAD
2.Jason GERIA, 4.Rai MARCHAN, 5.Damien DA SILVA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 8.Zinedine MACHACH, 10.Bruno FORNAROLI, 11.Ben FOLAMI, 14.Connor CHAPMAN, 16.Stefan NIGRO, 17.Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18.Fabian MONGE, 19.Daniel ARZANI, 20.Paul IZZO, 21.Roderick MIRANDA, 22.Jake BRIMMER, 24.Eli ADAMS, 25.Ryan TEAGUE, 28.Franco LINO, 40.Christian SICILIANO
In’s: 4.Rai MARCHAN, 16.Stefan NIGRO, 18.Fabian MONGE
Out’s: 3.Adama TRAORE
