The Perth Glory will line up against the Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome tomorrow night, in a rematch of the Round 2 clash that ended in a rather drab 0 – 0 draw.
The Glory are yet to win a match this year, but they are coming off what was arguably their best match of the season last week, against Sydney FC. Perth went 3 – 1 up in that match, but Sydney snatched back two goals to gain a point. A heartbreaking draw, to be sure; but I think Ron Smith and co. will take a lot of encouragement from the performance. In particular, James Robinson looked very dangerous. He makes his return to the Telstra Dome tomorrow, this time in Perth gear.
The Victory, on the other hand, suffered their first loss of the season to a vibrant and convincing Adelaide United. Adelaide outclassed a Melbourne side missing Kevin Muscat and Grant Brebner, putting my predictions to utter shame.
Muscat has been named in tomorrow’s squad, but it’s still doubtful whether he’ll make an appearance. Brebner should be straight back into the starting 11. Like fellow blogger Neil, I have not been overly impressed with Brebner’s performances so far this season, but last week indicated that a Melbourne side without Brebner and Muscat is desperately lacking. The other good news this week is that Leigh Broxham is close to returning, after a thigh strain forced him to miss the last two matches.
Last time I wrote my preview for this fixture, I predicted a fairly comfortable 2 – 0 win for the Victory. Peter commented, predicting an even more comfortable 3 – 0. We both turned out quite wrong. This time around, I’m going to predict 2 – 0 again, but I’ll add that it will be a tough and very tight affair. Frankly, I expect a resilient Perth with a thirst for their first win of the season.
My tip: Melbourne Victory 2, Perth Glory 0
Your tip?
2 comments ↓
Ok, well, I won’t be as confident as last time. I’ll suggest a 2-1 victory. Will be happy to win whatever the scoreline quite frankly
But I’ll be even happier with a good, encouraging performance more than anything!
As long as we end up playing football I’m not fussed what the result is. I’m the kind of person who’d rather lose playing well than win playing badly. Especially since we still have quite a bit of the season left to go. You can build on good football, but then my logic comes undone if I consider Queensland Roar’s seasons so far…
Fine then… GO VICTORY!
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