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Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC Tips & Prediction - Victory backed to reach semi-finals
The A-League elimination final sees Melbourne Victory facing Sydney FC at AAMI Park. Victory enters the match with strong momentum, having lost just one of their past 11 games and boosted by Juan Mata's comeback from injury. Mata, who leads the league in assists, will be crucial for Victory's semi-final ambitions. Sydney FC, however, have struggled throughout the season, despite some improvement under new coach Patrick Kisnorbo. With Victory in solid form and Mata's influence, they are backed to advance.
- Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC predictions for Saturday's A-League elimination final
- Victory in superior form, going unbeaten in 10 of last 11 games
- Sydney struggling with just three wins from last 12
- Prediction: BTTS - No, Victory Win & Juan Mata 1+ Assist
- The game is scheduled for kick off at 7.30pm AEST on Saturday May 2
Expired
Victory host Sydney on Saturday (Photo by Getty Images)
Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC Tips & Prediction
It's another huge Big Blue as Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC collide in the second A-League elimination final on Saturday night at AAMI Park.
Arguably the two biggest clubs in the A-League lock horns in a sudden death showdown, with the winner advancing into next week's semi-finals and the loser going home.
Victory are in good form, coming into this clash with just one defeat from their last 11 games, while they received a huge boost last week, with Spanish World Cup winner Juan Mata returning from an elbow injury. Meanwhile, Sydney haven't been able to hit top form basically all season, but have gone unbeaten since Patrick Kisnorbo's arrival - albeit winning just one of those four games.
I haven't been convinced by Sydney all season and it's hard to see them suddenly locking in and producing their best football for the finals. Mata's inclusion is massive for Victory - the former Man United and Chelsea star tops the competition for assists and his influence and experience will prove pivotal in a finals game.
“I think we’ve been lucky enough this season to have Juan Mata in our team,” Victory captain Roderick Miranda said.
"All the assists, all the goals, all the brilliant moments he gave us throughout the season. I know he is excited as well to play. Hopefully now everything can go back to normal. He can come back to normal fitness that he was before the injury."
Mata has three assists in as many appearances vs Sydney this term, while he has five more than the next best in the competition with 13 in 24 games.
I'm backing another Mata Masterclass as Victory conquer their bitter rivals from up north and secure their spot in the semi-finals. Also decent value on only one team scoring, which has been a trend in recent matchups between the clubs.
Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC Stats & Trends
- BTTS - No has landed in seven of the last nine meetings
- BTTS - No has landed in six of Sydney's last nine games
- BTTS - No has landed in two of Victory's last four games
- Victory have won three of their last four home games vs Sydney
- Sydney have won just three of their last 12 games
- Victory are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 games
- Juan Mata has registered 13 assists this season, including six in his last eight games
- Juan Mata has registered three assists vs Sydney in as many appearances this season
- Two of Victory's last four wins over Sydney were by a 2-0 score & they beat Wanderers 2-0 last week
Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC Head To Head
These teams have split the three meetings this season with one win apiece and a draw. Sydney were dominant 3-0 winners in Round 5 courtesy of a Joe Lolley double before Victory returned serve with a 4-0 blitz in Round 14 as Santos bagged a brace and Mata assisted for three goals.
Their Round 20 clash saw Victory take a two-goal lead through a sensational Mata free-kick before Charles Nduka doubled their advantage. However, Sydney scored two goals in as many minutes midway through the second half to equalise for a 2-2 draw, with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Ahmet Arslan getting on the scoresheet.
Melbourne Victory Form Analysis
Victory finished the regular season in fourth spot on the ladder with a 11-7-8 record and going unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 games.
Arthur Diles' side secured 2-2 draws with Auckland and minor premiers Newcastle before conquering Western Sydney 2-0 last week to lock in a home elimination final.
Santos and Nikos Vergos were on target in the second half as Victory ended the regular campaign on a high, hoping bigger things are to come over the last month.
Crucially, Juan Mata came on for a nine-minute cameo off the bench for his first minutes since injuring his elbow last month.
Melbourne Victory Team News
Squad will be announced on Thursday.
Sydney FC Form Analysis
It was a strange old season for Sydney - they never really hit top gear and ultimately settled for fifth spot and a daunting sudden death Big Blue on the road.
Patrick Kisnorbo took over from Ufuk Talay for the final month of the regular season, but nothing much has changed - Sydney are still performing below par and struggling to put away their chances.
Case in point last week - Sydney twice took the lead over Auckland with goals from Ben Garuccio and Alexandar Popovic as they still had a chance of finishing second and securing a direct semi-final berth.
However, the Sky Blues couldn't put their foot down and were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw, missing out on hosting an elimination final, let alone the top two.
Sydney FC Team News
Squad will be announced on Thursday.
Verdict
Victory are tipped to advance into the semi-finals on the back of another Mata masterclass.
Victory Win
H2H
$2.10 - 2 Units
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BTTS - No
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Victory 2-0
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