Two of the Hyundai A-League’s fiercest rivals go head-to-head in a blockbuster Westfield FFA Cup quarter-final as Kevin Muscat’s free-scoring Victory take on defending Cup champions Adelaide United.
MATCH DETAILS
Westfield FFA Cup 2015 Quarter Finals – Match Day 1 Fixture
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
AAMI Park, Melbourne (VIC)
Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Peter Green
Assistant Referee 1: Brad Hobson
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin
Fourth Official: George Lakrindis
AAR 1: Shaun Evans
AAR 2: Lachlan Keevers
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
TV Broadcast: Live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7:00pm (AEST)
Click here to go to the official match centre
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Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 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, 18.Dylan MURNANE, 19.George HOWARD, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Iacopo LA ROCCA, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 5.Osama MALIK, 7.Pablo SÁNCHEZ, 8.ISAIAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.George MELLS, 16.Craig GOODWIN, 17.Mate DUGANDZIC, 18.Jimmy JEGGO, 19.Eli BABALJ, 20.John HALL (gk), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 23.Jordan ELSEY
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
The Westfield FFA Cup provides an opportunity for these long-time foes to get an early psychological advantage before the new Hyundai A-League campaign, which sees them kick off their seasons at Adelaide Oval on October 9. Not to mention, taking a giant leap towards the season’s first piece of silverware.
What a juicy contest we are set for at AAMI Park.
This will be Victory’s very first home tie in the FFA Cup - it's been a long wait and they will love being back at the scene of their triumph over Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
Kevin Muscat’s side hasn’t missed a beat in pre-season, scoring a truckload of goals in entertaining wins over both Hyundai A-League and PS4 NPL opposition.
Ominously for the visitors, all of Victory’s big guns seem to be in top form. Besart Berisha, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Daniel Georgievski are leading from the front.
And what an occasion it promises to be for Carl Valeri, who will lead the side for the first time since he was unveiled as new skipper.
Adelaide’s pre-season from has also bubbled along nicely and new boss Guillermo Amor will have the Reds cherry-ripe for this one.
Like Victory, they will get the ball down and play with pace and verve on the pristine AAMI Park surface.
While playmaker Marcelo Carrusca will be the man the home side will target, the likes of Pablo Sanchez, Eli Babalj and FFA Cup specialist Sergio Cirio provide plenty of attacking threats for the Reds.
But they will be without defender Dylan McGowan who was sent off in the round of 16 extra-time win over Sydney FC.
It’s hard to split which way this tie will go but thrills, goals and action is assured in this battle between the current Hyundai A-League and Westfield FFA Cup champions.
WHAT THEY SAY
Daniel Georgievski (Melbourne Victory) "We're getting excited. We haven't played in front of the fans since the Grand Final, so we're looking forward to it for sure."
Tarek Elrich (Adelaide United) "We’ll go out there and worry about ourselves and the style of play we know we can play and we’ll go out there and hopefully get a result and hopefully this time we can do it in 90 minutes and not have to worry about extra time like against Sydney FC. The coaching staff have done a bit of video work on their strengths and weaknesses and have analysed their movements so we know what we want to target."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
MELBOURNE VICTORY
League: Hyundai A-League
Current ladder position: Finished 1st and won the Hyundai A-League grand final last season
Latest result: Defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-0 in friendly
Who to watch out for: Besart Berisha
Official site: www.melbournevictory.com.au
ADELAIDE UNITED
League: Hyundai A-League
Current ladder position: Last season, third in the Hyundai A-League
Latest result: Beat Melbourne City 3-1 in a friendly clash on Wednesday.
Who to watch out for: Marcelo Carrusca
Official site: www.adelaideunited.com.au