Just in case you needed more reasons to be excited for Saturday’s home Melbourne Derby at AAMI Park…
AAMI Park at its best
Despite the result, Victory’s home opener in Round Two saw an unbelievable atmosphere descend on AAMI Park.
A chilling rendition of Stand By Me followed by 90 minutes of frenzied support from the best fans in Australian football created an unforgettable night.
With cross-town rivals Melbourne City entering the arena on Saturday night, expect an even better spectacle off the pitch.
Derby spite
There’s no love lost between Victory and City.
Melbourne’s two biggest Clubs save their fiery best for Melbourne Derby night and with a big crowd behind them raising adrenaline levels to another notch, expect a heated contest.
Victory will be desperate to amend for last week’s loss to the Wanderers and proved too strong for City in the last Derby, winning 3-0 in April.
D’Agostino v Maclaren
Two of the league’s premier strikers are set to face off.
Goalscoring machines Nick D’Agostino and Jamie Maclaren hold the keys to their sides chances and have both found the back of the net in the opening fortnight of the season.
In last season’s opening Melbourne Derby, both D’Agostino and Maclaren scored in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Squad building
Victory’s new-look squad is warming into the new campaign and should improve as the season transpires.
While their availability is still uncertain, talented trio Matt Spiranovic, Tomi Juric and Jason Geria are all back on the training track and could join Popovic’s team sheet soon.
New faces first Derby experience
The Melbourne Derby is a special night to be involved in as a Victory player and a handful of new faces will experience it for the first time on Saturday.
Luis Nani, Kadete, George Timotheou, Paul Izzo, Tomi Juric, Noah Smith and Nathan Konstandopoulos could all earn their first taste of Melbourne Derby action.
