Melbourne Victory Men return to AAMI Park for the U-NITE double header against Sydney FC on Friday, January 24.
Victory will be determined to return to their winning ways after a tough few weeks with results.
Melbourne Victory:
Reno Piscopo returns to Arthur Diles’ squad against the Sky Blues, while the arrival of new signing Mitch Langerak will provide another excellent goalkeeping option alongside Jack Duncan.
Despite falling short in Adelaide last Saturday, the top six is within reaching distance for Victory.
Although the results have not gone the way of the side, the performances of the side have been consistently impressive.
In their six-game winless streak, Victory have recorded a higher expected goals than their opposition in four of these games.
Interestingly, Victory currently sits top of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s expected points ladder – meaning that the results of games have not matched the quality of scoring chances Victory creates when compared to their opponents.
As such, Victory will hope that luck will return in their favour after narrowly falling short of acquiring more points in their past few games.
Sydney FC:
After enjoying a solid six-game undefeated streak heading into their previous fixture, Sydney FC shockingly lost at home to the previously winless Brisbane Roar.
While a disappointing result, the Sky Blues remain 5th in the league and the top-scoring team in the competition.
Joe Lolley has been key for Ufuk Talay’s attacking line. The English winger currently leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals, along with four assists he has recorded in his 12 appearances this season.
However, Sydney’s attacking and high-pressing emphasis has proven to make them vulnerable to counter-attacking moves by their opposition – an area Victory can certainly look to exploit with their quick attackers.
Round 16 Squad:
1. Mitch LANGERAK, 3. Adama TRAORE, 5. Brendan HAMILL, 6. Ryan TEAGUE, 7. Daniel ARZANI, 8. Zinedine MACHACH, 9. Nikolaos VERGOS, 10. Bruno FORNAROLI, 11. Clerismario SANTOS RODRIGUES, 14. Jordi VALADON, 16. Joshua INSERRA, 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18. Fabian MONGE, 19. Jing REEC, 21. Roderick MIRANDA, 22. Joshua Rawlins, 25. Jack DUNCAN, 26. Luka KOLIC, 27. Reno PISCOPO, 28. Kasey BOS.
Ins: 26. Luka KOLIC (promoted), 27. Reno PISCOPO
Outs: 24. Alexander MENELAOU
Unavailable: nil
