Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory Preview
A top four battle in the A-League, but the edge might have been taken off with both sides struggling with injuries including Victory's Juan Mata. I'm sticking with the trends in this one with BTTS No backed.
Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory Stats & Trends
- BTTS No has landed in the last 5 meetings
- Victory are unbeaten in 7 of their last 8 games
- Auckland have won just 4 of their last 11 games
Head To Head
This will be the second meeting between the sides this season after their Round 1 clash ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Auckland FC Chasing Top Spot Still
Auckland come into this encounter with a 11-7-5 record on the season and sitting in second spot on the ladder.
The Black Knights are bidding to secure back-to-back minor premierships and trail the Jets by three points at the top of the table.
The wins have dried up a bit lately for Auckland - they suffered an upset home loss to Macarthur before last week's 1-1 share of the spoils with Adelaide.
Felipe Gallegos equalised for Auckland in the second half in what was a fiery showdown at Coopers.
Melbourne Victory Bidding To Seal Finals Spot
Victory head into this contest with a 10-5-8 record on the season after 23 rounds.
Arthur Diles' side are currently in fourth spot on the ladder, but in an interesting position - they can still challenge for a top two finish, but must also be careful of a resurgent Macarthur side in seventh.
Victory appeared to be rolling towards that aforementioned top two finish following back-to-back 4-1 wins over Macarthur and Central Coast, with Juan Mata pulling the strings from midfield.
However, in a huge blow, Mata suffered a fractured elbow after Victory suffered their first home loss to Wellington in nine years last week, going down 1-0. The Spanish veteran isn't expected to return before the finals and could miss the rest of the season.