Melbourne Victory vs Auckland FC Tips & Predictions - Close contest expected in first leg

After winning the minor premiership and leading from almost start to finish, Auckland now turn their attention to Grand Final glory in their first ever A-League season - but standing in their way are a Melbourne Victory outfit brimming with confidence having snapped the Wanderers' 12-game unbeaten run in last week's elimination finals.

Victory arguably have the best team in the A-League on paper and perhaps they are about to step up when it matters most. However, Auckland have proven they are an extremely tough side to break down all season, losing just three of their 26 games - and one of those was a meaningless final game of the regular season when they had nothing to play for. I'm backing a close encounter in the first leg with Under 2.5 goals, while a share of the spoils is the best value in the H2H market.

These two teams drew their first ever meeting 0-0 on New Year's Day before Auckland prevailed 2-0 in Round 27 last month.

That defeat to Auckland was Victory's only defeat in their last six games of the season as they cemented their spot in the finals.

A 2-1 win over Macarthur FC in the penultimate round of the regular season was enough for Victory, who then drew 1-1 with the Newcastle Jets to finish off the campaign.

Tasked with a daunting sudden-death trip to CommBank against a Wanderers side unbeaten in 12 games, Victory raised their level accordingly and came away with a 2-1 triumph.

Daniel Arzani produced his best performance of the season, setting up both goals for Kasey Bos and Zinedine Machach.

Mitch Langerak is the only unavailable player for Victory, with Jack Duncan to remain in goals.

It was a dream inaugural A-League season for Auckland, with the Kiwi club finishing the regular season with the minor premiership.

Auckland went unbeaten in 23 of their 26 games and were on top of the pile for the majority of the season, ultimately winning the league by five points over second-placed Melbourne City.

Steve Corica's side weren't completely on top of their game to end the campaign however, winning just three of their last nine games - including five draws.

After a week off, Auckland should have a full compliment of players to choose from here.