Melbourne Victory will look to build on an impressive midweek win when it hosts Sydney FC in a blockbuster clash on Friday.
Summary
Victory crushed Bali United 5-0 in Preliminary Round 2 of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday in a dominant display.
Migjen Basha, Josh Hope, Robbie Kruse, Ola Toivonen and Elvis Kamsoba all netted in the win.
Kamsoba, who scored his first goal for the club, Kruse and Toivonen also provided assists, while Anthony Lesiotis did likewise.
Toivonen came off the bench in his return from injury and had an immediate impact.
The result saw Victory return to winning ways after back-to-back losses in the Hyundai A-League.
It also marked Carlos Salvachua’s first win as Victory head coach in a huge boost ahead of hosting Sydney FC at AAMI Park.
Victory will be without James Donachie for the encounter after the defender picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the defeat in Adelaide.
In a huge move, the club announced the return of star attacker Marco Rojas on Wednesday.
Player in focus
What they said
“You don’t want to miss the Sydney and then Japanese game and then Perth so it’s an intense week so you need to be cautious, also when you’ve been gone for three weeks with a groin injury you never know what will happen. I’m happy with the 30 minutes I got.” – Victory skipper Toivonen.
Last time
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Round 6
Sydney FC 2-1 Melbourne Victory
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
Without a host of players due to international duty, Victory went ahead through Toivonen after a Hope assist.
But second-half goals from Adam le Fondre and Kosta Barbarouses saw Sydney claim three points.
As it stands
Head to head
Round 6, 2019/20: Sydney 2-1 Victory at Jubilee Stadium
Semi Final, 2018/19: Sydney 6-1 Victory at Jubilee Stadium
Round 24, 2018/19: Sydney 2-1 Victory at the SCG
Round 16, 2018/19: Victory 2-1 Sydney at AAMI Park
Round 5, 2018/19: Sydney 1-2 Victory at Jubilee Stadium
Match details
Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Friday, January 24, 2020
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Melbourne Victory squad: 2.Storm ROUX, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 10.Robbie KRUSE, 11.Ola TOIVONEN, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 23.Marco ROJAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 26.Jay BARNETT, 50.Brendan WHITE (gk)
**1-3 to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Ola TOIVONEN (promoted), 23. Marco ROJAS (new signing)
Outs: 4.James DONACHIE (suspended), 22.Kristijan DOBRAS (released)
Unavailable: 1.Matt ACTON (shoulder), 14.Thomas DENG (international duty) 5.Tim HOOGLAND (knee)
