Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Australian A-League clash between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory square off in the second leg of the A-League Finals Series semi-finals on Saturday.
The tie is currently on a knife edge with the two teams having played out a goalless draw last week.
Match preview
Since the turn of the year, it is fair to say that Wellington Phoenix have performed strongly on a consistent basis, losing just twice in 18 league matches during that period.
However, those two losses came during the final seven games of the regular game, giving Giancarlo Italiano plenty of food for thought ahead of resuming action in the Finals Series.
As a result of finishing as runners-up to Central Coast Mariners, the Nix earned a spot in the semis, yet that comes with its disadvantages courtesy of two weeks having passed by without a game.
Nevertheless, Wellington were able to secure a goalless draw in the away fixture on May 12, making it just one goal conceded in four games.
Eight matches have also come and gone without shipping more than one goal in the same fixture, a statistic that Italiano will take confidence from heading into this encounter.
From Melbourne Victory’s perspective, finishing in third spot in the regular season meant that they were forced to negotiate a tie in the elimination finals.
That would come against no other than neighbours Melbourne City, who took a 29th-minute lead and held that advantage for the majority of the contest.
With two minutes remaining, Nishan Velupillay would save his side, before Victory prevailed 3-2 in a penalty shootout at AAMI Park.
Tony Popovic‘s side could not continue that momentum in the first leg of the last-four tie, yet the positives should be taken from keeping just a second clean sheet in 12 outings.
Wellington Phoenix Australian A-League form:
Melbourne Victory Australian A-League form:
Team News
Italiano may decide that he has no reason to tinker with the Wellington side that secured a goalless draw last time out.
Oskar Zawada, back from injury, is an option to replace David Ball down the centre of the attack, however, with the Englishman having not scored all season.
Changes are also likely to be few and far between for the visitors, although Daniel Arzani is an alternative on the right flank.
Jake Brimmer may also be considered for an outing in a central creative role, but Popovic may keep changes to a minimum.
From the squad that was named for the first leg, Leigh Broxham and Stefan Nigro each come back into the fold.
Wellington Phoenix possible starting lineup:
Paulsen; Payne, Wootton, Surman, Sutton; Pennington, Rufer, Old; Barbarouses, Kraev; Zawada
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Izzo; Geria, Miranda, Da Silva, Traore; Teague, Valadon; Arzani, Brimmer, Velupillay; Fornaroli
We say: Wellington Phoenix 1-2 Melbourne Victory (Melbourne Victory to win 2-1 on aggregate)
With these two teams having each finished in the top three of the standings, we do not expect much between them in this second leg. However, with Melbourne having had more game time of late, we feel that their extra sharpness could prove key in securing a place in the final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
