After six matches without a win, Melbourne Victory will be hoping to turn things around on Friday when they host Wellington Phoenix.
The visitors are at the opposite end of the A-League table in comparison to the bottom-placed Boys in Blue, as they are currently fourth and face the possibility of moving into second with a win here.
Match preview
Melbourne Victory's difficult season did not get any easier last weekend when they once again fell short of the mark after being defeated 2-1 by Sydney FC despite the fact they originally took the lead.
Jake Brimmer got his team off to an ideal start in the 26th minute when he found the back of the net with an excellent free kick, but Max Burgess leveled things up before half time, while Adam Le Fondre then scored the winner early in the second half.
The defeat placed further pressure on Tony Popovic as his team continues to sit at the bottom of the A-League and the gap between them and the others increased once again.
The Boys in Blue are five points behind Western United right now, and they have only managed three wins all season, and even more concerning is the fact that just one of them took place at home.
That is not an ideal statistic heading into this particular match as Melbourne Victory are struggling to turn their home ground into a fortress, which is the opposite of what they need to be doing right now.
While the visitors have managed a couple of victories on the road throughout this campaign, they have not been prolific in being a major threat during their away performances.
Wellington Phoenix have won and drawn two while losing the other, but they have only managed to score six times throughout those matches, despite the fact they have found the back of the net 18 times at home.
Two of those goals took place in their most recent outing which ended up being a thrilling 2-2 draw against Perth Glory FC, with Ufuk Talay's men finishing the game with just 10 men.
Oskar Zawada and Kosta Barbarouses put the team two ahead in the first 20 minutes of the match as their strike partnership continues to be one of the most dominant in the division.
However, Tim Payne's red card in the 56th minute did prove to be a game-changer as Wellington Phoenix were not able to hang on, with David Williams scoring his second of the game in the 80th minute to earn a point for his team.
Despite the frustrations felt by the Yellow Army at dropping two points, it did extend their unbeaten run to four games, and considering they are just two points behind second place they will be pleased with how their campaign has begun.
Team News
Experienced attacker Nani was unavailable for Melbourne Victory last weekend because of injury, and this game may end up coming too quickly for him to make a return to the side, especially from the first whistle.
However, Popovic could choose to hand a debut to new signing Bruce Kamau who has joined the club on loan for the remainder of the season, boosting their attacking options.
Despite the fact that Wellington Phoenix did try to contest the VAR decision to send Payne off last weekend, the ruling was made that it will still stand and his one-game suspension will take place this Friday.
That will result in at least one change to the starting lineup from the draw against Perth Glory, with Finn Surman being a likely option to slot in at the back this time around.
Zawada will continue to lead the line after scoring his fourth goal in four games in the draw, and with his strike partner Barbarouses notching his second of the season, their partnership will likely be unchanged here.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Acton; Geria, Bozinovski, Spiranovic, Smith; Brillante, Broxham; Velupillay, Brimmer, Folami; Kamau
Wellington Phoenix possible starting lineup:
Sail; Elliot, Laws, Surman, Mauragis; Ball, Lewis, Kraev, Rufer; Barbarouses, Zawada
We say: Melbourne Victory 0-2 Wellington Phoenix
Melbourne Victory are struggling massively right now, and while playing at home would normally provide a benefit to a team, that is not the case for them right now.
The hosts have won just a single match in their own stadium this season, and because of that Wellington Phoenix should be able to claim all three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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