Melbourne Victory’s Men will round out the Club’s first double header for 2023 when they face Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park on Friday.
Victory enter the New Year with renewed optimism, set to kick it all off at home.
In positive squad news, Roderick Miranda becomes available for selection after a stint on the sidelines.
The potential inclusion of Miranda into Victory’s lineup after Matthew Spiranovic also returned in Round 10 could be the start of the defensive continuity Head Coach Tony Popovic is looking forward to.
Although last week’s away trip to the Central Coast did not end in favour of the Victory, the stats board points at positive signs to come.
Victory dominated on paper, with more possession, a higher number of chances created, also winning the battle in a range of other key stats, part of why Popovic believed Victory should have come away from Gosford with more.
“Against Central Coast we we were really in that match, maybe a little bit fatigued in the last 20, with a lot of players who haven’t had minutes.”
“We’ve gained a lot of confidence from our performance against Central Coast, I think we gained more from how we’ve seen the players move and train this week.”
Discussing Friday night’s battle with Brisbane, Popovic explained his side is ready to do what it takes to keep the three points in Melbourne: “We’ll have to earn it, we’re ready to earn it, we’re ready for the challenge.”
History against Brisbane
Recent history against the Roar indicates this one could be a tight contest, with three of the past five ending in draws.
2022/23, October 29: Brisbane 0-0 Victory
2021/22, April 25: Brisbane 1-1 Victory
2021/22, April 12: Victory 0-0 Brisbane
2021/22, November 28: Victory 3-0 Brisbane
2020/21, February 6: Brisbane 5-2 Victory
Melbourne Victory Squad
1.Matt ACTON, 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Enrique LOPEZ, 4.Rai MARCHAN, 5.Matt SPIRANOVIC, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Josh BRILLANTE, 10.Bruno FORNAROLI, 11.Ben FOLAMI, 15.George TIMOTHEOU, 16. Stefan NIGRO, 17.Luis NANI, 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 22.Jake BRIMMER, 23. Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 24.Nishan VELUPILLAY, 25.Noah SMITH, 28.Will Wilson, 30.Ahmad TALEB 31.Matthew BOZINOVSKI
In: 10.Bruno FORNAROLI (promoted), 21.Roderick MIRANDA (returns from injury), 25.Noah SMITH (promoted)
Out: 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS (injured)
Unavailable: 20.Paul IZZO (injured)
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League – Round 11
Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
Friday 6 January
Kick-off: 7.45pm (AEDT)
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: Paramount+
