On their home turf, Melbourne Victory lost 2-1 to Sydney FC last Thursday, failing to put an end to the rot. Since their 1-0 victory over Macarthur in December, the Victory has lost five of their last six league games and only one point from 18 games. Despite having one game in hand, Melbourne Victory is currently rooted to the bottom of the A-League table with 11 points from 13 matches.
Kazansana girişAside from Wellington Phoenix, Perth Glory forced them to a 2-2 draw last time out after they gave up a two-goal advantage. Prior to that, the Phoenix had won three consecutive games, defeating Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar, and Central Coast Mariners. Wellington Phoenix is fourth in the league with 21 points from 14 games, but with all three points this weekend, they could move up to second.
Wellington Phoenix will be eager to improve their head-to-head record against Melbourne Victory, who have struggled to produce results in recent weeks, given the disparate form between the teams. Having said that, we expect the Phoenix to win narrowly on Friday in an exciting matchup.
Prediction: Melbourne Victory 1-2 Wellington Phoenix
Melbourne Victory has the advantage in this matchup’s history with 23 victories from the 47 previous encounters. Since their 3-2 defeat to Wellington Phoenix in March 2015, the Victory has won five and drawn four of their nine home games against the Phoenix.
The Wellington Phoenix have won 12 games during that time, splitting 12 of those victories. Since losing 3-1 to Melbourne City in their first game of the year, the Phoenix haven’t lost in their last four A-League games, winning three and drawing one. The Melbourne Victory team has lost five of their last six games and drawn one of them.
Nani, a seasoned attacker, was injured last weekend and was unable to play for Melbourne Victory. This game may come too quickly for him to play, especially after the first whistle. However, in order to expand their attacking options, Popovic may decide to give a debut to Bruce Kamau, a new signing who has signed with the club on loan for the remainder of the season.
Payne’s one-game suspension will begin on Friday, despite the fact that Wellington Phoenix attempted to challenge the VAR decision to dismiss him last weekend. As a result, there will be at least one change to the starting lineup from the draw with Perth Glory. Finn Surman will probably play at the back this time. Zawada will continue to lead the team after scoring his fourth goal in four games in the draw. Their partnership will likely remain the same here, as Barbarouses scored his second goal of the season.
Melbourne Victory:
Wellington Phoenix:
| Country | Channels |
| United Kingdom | BoxNation |
| Germany | DAZN, DAZN2 |
| United States | Fox Soccer Plus, ViX |
| France | Molotov, Free, L’Equipe, L’Equipe Web |
| Nepal | SONY TEN 3 HD, Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3 |
| India | JioTV, SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN 3, Sony LIV |
| Sri Lanka | Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 3 HD |