A- League Preview – Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United – Latest Odds.
AAMI Park
Friday 13th January 2012.
Week 15 of the A-League season should get underway with a bang on Friday night as Melbourne Victory welcome Adelaide United to AAMI Park.
Victory may now have a city derby to enjoy against Heart, but that doesn’t mean there has been any dilution of the hostility that exists between them and Adelaide and another explosive encounter looks to be very much on the cards.
Just to add a little extra spice, the game will be Jim Magilton’s first in charge since succeeding Mehmet Durakovic in the Victory hot-seat, while new Reds boss John Kosmina will come face to face with the man who famously knocked him off his seat a few years back, Kevin Muscat.
Muscat has remained as Victory’s assistant boss despite Durakovic’s departure and although he and Kosmina have long since buried the hatchet regarding that ugly touchline spat, the exchanges between the two benches could still prove every bit as feisty and entertaining as those on the field.
Victory did of course hold the wood over United right up until last season when the Reds managed to beat them twice and the South Australians have continued that trend reversal this season, picking up four points from the two clashes in Week 2 and Week 10.
The visitors also have the better form coming into this game having secured two wins and two draws since Kosmina took up the reins and did not appear to pick up any fresh injury concerns in last week’s creditable 1-1 draw with Brisbane.
Dario Vidosic has only trained lightly this week, but is expected to be declared fit enough for the trip to AAMI Park, while deposed club captain Jon McKain will wear a knee brace for the next few weeks and won’t be back in action until late February.
As for Victory, they picked up a first win in four games last weekend, downing Newcastle 2-1 and new boss Magilton will have been delighted to see Harry Kewell turning in another sparkling performance. Having taken his time to settle into life in the A-League, the marquee Socceroo is finally starting to showcase his match-winning talents and if he can stay fit, the men in navy cannot be ruled out of the finals equation.
It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, Magilton makes in terms of personnel and formation and his arrival could be good news for the likes of Jean Carlos Solorzano, Isaka Cernak and Marco Rojas all of whom struggled for game time under Durakovic.
Adelaide have more momentum coming into the game, but Victory may well benefit from the instant boost that the appointment of a new manager traditionally brings in terms of performances and results.
In short, it’s a tricky one to call and it could be worth sitting on the fence and backing the draw.
Prediction: Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United
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