The teams are in for Saturday’s blockbuster Melbourne Derby. See who’s in and who’s out of this week’s squad.
The big ‘in’ for City this week is the inclusion of Socceroo defender Alex Wilkinson, who arrived at the Club on Sunday and trained strongly throughout the week.
Wilkinson could potentially slot in to his favoured centre back position if he was called up to start, creating a selection headache for Head Coach John van’t Schip in the absence of the suspended Jacob Melling.
Anthony Caceres is another man who will throw his hat in the ring for Melling’s midfield position on Saturday, returning from his one match suspension picked up against the Wanderers while young midfielder Ali Eyigun makes up the 18-man squad that will be cut down to 16 90 minutes before kick-off.
The visitors see the inclusion of Archie Thompson, Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Rashid Mahazi and Thomas Deng to their extended squad, with all four players battling it out for the final two spots on the teamsheet.
Thompson returns to the side after recovering from minor back soreness while Mahazi and Ben Khalfallah served out suspensions to be ready for the Derby.
Although City have suffered back to back losses, van’t Schip’s side come into the contest only having lost three of their last eleven matches. With only goal difference separating the sides, the 19th edition of the Melbourne Derby is set to be an important match in the context of both side’s seasons.
Be at the Derby this Saturday night with our three match pack! See one of the biggest matches of the season and two more of our remaining home matches as City mounts a charge towards the Hyundai A-League Finals Series. Sign up today!
Saturday, 13 February 2016
Melbourne City FC v Melbourne Victory
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7:30 PM (Local) (7:30 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis
Assistant Referee 2: Luke Brennan
Fourth Official: Lucien Laverdure
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 774 ABC Melbourne, ABC Local Radio Vic, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live. Crocmedia A-League Live ( www.facebook.com/A-leagueLIVERadio ). SEN Radio (Melbourne)
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #MelbDerby
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (GK), 2.Alex WILKINSON, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Aaron MOOY, 9.Harry NOVILLO, 11.Michael ZULLO, 16.Jason TRIFIRO, 17.Wade DEKKER, 18.Paulo RETRE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Dean BOUZANIS (GK), 22.Jack CLISBY, 23.Bruno FORNAROLI, 24.Patrick KISNORBO (c), 27.Nick FITZGERALD, 29.Anthony CACERES, 33.Osama MALIK, 39.Ali EYIGUN
Ins: 2.Alex WILKINSON (transfer – Jeonbuk Motors), 29.Anthony CACERES (returns from suspension), 39.Ali EYIGUN (promoted)
Outs: 25.Jacob MELLING (suspension – 1 match)
Unavailable: 3.Aaron HUGHES (calf – 1-2 weeks), 4.Connor CHAPMAN (knee – 3-4 weeks), 7.Corey GAMEIRO (knee – season)
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM (c), 7.Gui FINKLER, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Oliver BOZANIC, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.Matthieu DELPIERRE, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 24.Thomas DENG
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 10.Archie THOMPSON (returns from injury), 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH (returns from suspension), 16.Rashid MAHAZI (returns from suspension), 24.Thomas DENG (promoted)
Outs: 19.George HOWARD (omitted), 23.Jai INGHAM (omitted)
Unavailable: 21.Carl VALERI (ill – indefinite)
