Melbourne Victory will be hunting a fifth straight win when they welcome Perth Glory to AAMI Park on Friday night.
Following last week’s tight 1-0 success against Canberra United, Victory have propelled themselves into the top four of the Liberty A-League, just three points behind league-leaders Melbourne City.
The win against Canberra was secured by a clinical strike from Alex Chidiac, skilfully assisted by Paige Zois in the build-up.
On Friday, Jeff Hopkins’ side come up against a familiar opposition, having played Perth away at Macedonia Park less than a month ago.
On that occasion, Victory ran out 3-0 winners thanks to a double from Melina Ayres plus a sensational goal scored directly from a corner by Chidiac.
A similar result this week will see Victory continue to mount the pressure on their rivals at the top of the A-League Women’s ladder, with just three points separating first from fifth as things stand.
Perth have endured a difficult start to the season, winning only one of their first seven fixtures.
However, Glory’s notable array of young talent, including several players from Victoria, means Victory must remain cautious of the constant threat posed by their opposition.
Victory boss Jeff Hopkins discussed the win against Perth last time these two teams met, saying: “We’re very, very wary about this game.”
“(the win away in Perth) It’s a game we won, and we played really well, it was probably one of our best performances of the season.
“We’re really focussing on the technical side, and the tactical side for sure, but more around our physical preparation, our ability to work hard, to be cohesive as a team without the ball.”
History against Perth Glory
Victory have a strong recent record against the West Australian team, winning four of the last five meetings between the sides.
2022/23, December 11: Glory 0-3 Victory
2021/22, February 19: Victory 0-2 Glory
2020/21, March 28: Victory 6-0 Glory
2020/21, March 16: Glory 0-1 Victory
2019/20, December 28: Glory 1-2 Victory
Melbourne Victory Squad
1.Casey DUMONT, 2. Tiffany ELIADIS, 5.Jessika NASH, 6.Beattie GOAD, 8.Alana MURPHY, 10.Alex CHIDIAC, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 15.Amy JACKSON, 16.Paige ZOIS, 17.Maja MARKOVSKI 18.Kayla MORRISON, 19.Lia PRIVITELLI, 20.Miranda TEMPLEMAN, 21.Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT, 22.Ava BRIEDIS, 23.Emily KOS, 25.Rikke MADSEN, 27.Rosie CURTIS
In: 20. Miranda TEMPLEMAN (returns from injury), 21.Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT (returns from illness), 23.Emily KOS (promoted), 26.Anna LIACOPOULOS (promoted)
Out: nil
Unavailable: 3.Claudia BUNGE (injured), 7.Gema SIMON, 9.Catherine ZIMMERMAN (injured), 14.Melina AYRES (injured)
Match Details
Liberty A-League – Round 9
Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory
Friday 6 January
Kick-off: 5.05pm (AEDT)
AAMI Park, Melbourne
