Melbourne Victory and Western United will square up this Saturday in the second leg of their semifinal round of the 2021/22 A-League Playoffs.
Venue: AAMI Park (Melbourne)
Key Statistics
Melbourne Victory are unbeaten in their last 16 league games (ten wins and six draws).
The hosts have scored 3+ goals in three of their last five league games.
They have kept two clean sheets in two of their last three home games, conceding just one goal over those three games.
Western United are winless in their last three away games.
The visitors have not kept an away clean sheet in their last six tries.
They have failed to score in three of their last five games.
Head to head
Both sides have four wins apiece in ten meetings between them, with Melbourne Victory’s four wins coming in the last five meetings between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Melbourne Victory: W-W-W-D-W
Western United: L-W-L-D-L
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory will look to book their place in the final of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men Playoffs when they host Western United at the AAMI Park on Saturday.
The hosts put themselves in the commanding position after winning the first leg 1-0, courtesy of a 74th-minute strike by Jake Brimmer.
The win extended their unbeaten run in the league to 16 games, and also made it three wins in a row for Tony Popovic’s side.
The Boys in Blue qualified for this round of the playoffs by finishing second in the league, thanks to a strong ending to the season. Having already won the FFA Cup this year, they will be desperate to win the title and so will want to give their best in this second leg.
Their form at home will be an enormous boost for them ahead of this game as they haven’t lost at AAMI Park since early February, winning four times and drawing three in that period.
Possible Melbourne Victory starting line-up
Ivan Kelava; Jason Geria, Roderick Miranda, Matthew Spiranovic, Jason Davidson; Joshua Brillante, Marchan Rai; Ben Folami, Jake Brimmer, Marco Rojas; Nicholas D’Agostino.
Injured: Robbie Kruse
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Western United
Western United will look to overturn a one-goal deficit in the first leg of this semi-final tie when they face Victory for the second time in a week.
Despite playing well in the first leg, John Aloisi’s side could not go home with the desired result. But they will hope to make amends in this second leg as they attempt to appear in their first-ever Grand Final appearance.
The visitors booked their place in this round by beating Wellington Phoenix last Saturday, which put the Green and Black in its second semi-final in just three years. But they will be desperate to go a step further but will have to win by two goals to guarantee them passage into the final.
Considering that they have won just one of their last five games, it is difficult to envision them winning this. But with much at stake, they will hope to give their best and secure a place in the Grand Finale.
Possible Western United starting line-up
Jamie Young; Joshua Risdon, Leo Lacroix, Tomoki Imai, Ben Garuccio; Jerry Skotadis, Neil Kilkenny; Connor Pain, Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Lachlan Wales; Aleksandar Prijovic.
Injured: Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Alessandro Diamanti
Doubtful: Steven Lustica
Suspended: None
Prediction
Melbourne Victory 2-1 Western United
