Melbourne Victory will look to continue its strong Westfield W-League record against Newcastle Jets when the teams meet at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.
Victory has won nine of its previous 12 matches against the Jets and goes into the encounter on the back of a hard-fought 3-3 draw in Adelaide.
Jeff Hopkins’ team battled back from a goal down three times to earn a point at Coopers Stadium.
However, there was a blow, with midfielder Melissa Taranto suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the clash.
Natasha Dowie scored a brace for Victory, taking her tally to four goals in eight games for the club.
Hopkins hopes his team can build on its display when it faces Newcastle, beaten 1-0 by City in its opener.
“We’ll be approaching the game quite positive after the weekend, but we understand they’ve got a lot of strengths,” he said.
“They’ve got pace up front, they’re pretty mobile in the midfield and also they’ve got a good keeper and a bit of strength at the back as well, so they’re a well-balanced side and they’ll be hard to break down.
“We’re coming off a good performance and we’re confident, and I can’t see why we can’t put in another really good performance and a better performance than we did last week.”
In a boost, MelindaJ Barbieri and Annabel Martin – two shining lights of last season – have returned from Young Matildas duty and are part of the squad.
Victory members receive free entry to all Westfield W-League home games this season. For non-members, tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for concession, with kids under 16 free.
Westfield W-League 2016/17 Round 2
Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets
Sunday, November 13, 4.00pm AEDT
Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne
Melbourne Victory squad (two to be omitted):Â 1.Bianca HENNINGER (gk), 2.Alexandra NATOLI, 3.Alex CHEAL, 6.Annabel MARTIN, 7.Lia PRIVITELLI, 8.Ayesha NORRIE, 9.Natasha DOWIE, 10.Christine NAIRN (c), 11.MelindaJ BARBIERI, 13.Laura SPIRANOVIC, 15.Adriana TARANTO, 16.Samantha JOHNSON, 17.Gulcan KOCA, 19.Rachel ALONSO, 20.Bethany MASON-JONES (gk), 22.Caitlin FRIEND, 25.Kariah WHITE
Ins:Â 6.Annabel MARTIN (returns from international duty), 11.MelindaJ BARBIERI (returns from international duty), 13.Laura SPIRANOVIC (promoted), 22.Caitlin FRIEND (promoted)
Outs: 4.Melissa TARANTO (knee – season), 14.Selin KURALAY (hamstring – 2-3 weeks)
Unavailable:Â Nil