Melbourne Victory’s Sebastian Esposito is not taking Central Coast Mariners lightly.
The visitors to AAMI Park on Saturday, March 21, kick-off 5.10pm AEDT, were last beaten in early January, when they lost 3-0 to Perth Glory.
Victory are also one of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s in-form sides, last losing when they travelled to the Mariners in a lightning-impacted Round 15 contest.
Most recently, they defeated Macarthur FC 4-1, with the Boys in Blue’s 20-year-old defender heading home his second of the 2025/26 season during the triumph from a Juan Mata corner.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Esposito briefly reflected on last week’s victory before assessing the Central Coast fixture.
“Obviously, a good three points last week. I thought the boys played very well, and we put together 90 minutes, which was good. Looking forward to tomorrow night.
“They’re a top-quality side, we saw last time, we can get punished by them. We got rolled by them last time, so for us, we need to make up for that, and we’re going to be looking to claim those three points.
“There’s a good buzz around the building, and we’re just looking forward to playing every week. I think that, alongside hard work and showing how good we are, is going to help us going forward.”
Esposito also previewed the action for U-NITE Multicultural Round, which, for the first time, will run in collaboration with the Victorian Multicultural Commission and synchronises with the beginning of Victoria’s 2026 Cultural Diversity Week.
“I’ve been overseas the last couple of years, and the amount of people I’ve met from different nationalities and different races.
“Learning everyone’s culture and language, it connects everyone, and that’s why I love football.”
Watch Esposito’s full press conference below.
