2026 Australia Cup

South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Australia Cup Tips & Prediction - Victory to secure third Australia Cup trophy

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Thu 08 Oct 2026 02:11

Andrew Hendrie 3 hours ago

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South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory predictions for Saturday's Australia Cup final
Victory aiming for third Australia Cup trophy
South Melbourne hoping to become first NPL club to win the competition
The game is scheduled for kick off at 7.35pm AEDT on Saturday October 10

South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Australia Cup Tips & Prediction

Melbourne Victory are tipped to deny South Melbourne a fairytale Australia Cup triumph when the two teams square off in a blockbuster final showdown at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Australia Cup Tips & Prediction
South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Stats & Trends
South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Head To Head
South Melbourne Form Analysis
South Melbourne Team News
Melbourne Victory Form Analysis
Melbourne Victory Team News

A near sell-out crowd will bear witness to arguably the most-anticipated Australia Cup final in the competition's short history as Melbourne's two most supported clubs collide. South Melbourne are a foundation giant of the old NSL in Australia, while Victory have emerged as the heavyweight club in the A-League since the competition began in the mid 00s.

South Melbourne are the third NPL club in the last five years to advance into the Australia Cup final, but will be aiming to be the first to win the trophy after Sydney United and Heidelberg came up short in the 2022 and 2025 showpieces against Macarthur FC and Newcastle Jets respectively.

Victory meanwhile are aiming for their third piece of Australia Cup silverware after previous triumphs in 2015 and 2021.

It's shaping as an unmissable contest, but you can't go past Victory for me.

There's a reason no NPL club has won this trophy - once an A-League side builds momentum in this competition and goes deep, the motivation increases. It also helps that the final is played just a week before the A-League season begins, so teams are more hardened than the earlier rounds played right at the start of the offseason.

But it's not really that deep - Victory simply have the far superior players. South Melbourne will prove dangerous with their passionate fans cheering them on and I think they can find the back of the net. However, Victory should have too much firepower and I expect them to rise to the occasion here.

South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Stats & Trends

Victory are unbeaten in 13 of their last 15 games in all comps
Victory have seen BTTS land in 11 of those 15 games
South Melbourne have scored in 16 of their last 18 games
BTTS has landed in three of the last five Australia Cup finals
Victory have a 2-1 record in Australia Cup finals
NPL sides have gone 0-2 in Australia Cup finals

South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory Head To Head

This will be the first competitive meeting between the two teams.

South Melbourne Form Analysis

It's been a brilliant run to a first Australia Cup final for South Melbourne.

The Hellas knocked out three-time champions Adelaide United in the R32 before surviving Fremantle City on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw at the end of 90 minutes.

Sinisa Cohadzic's side then knocked out the in-form Preston Lions with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory before dismantling Queensland Lions 3-1 in the semi-finals.

South Melbourne also finished the NPL Victoria regular season in fifth position after 13 wins from 26 games. They beat Heidelberg 2-1 in the elimination finals before falling to Oakleigh Cannons.

South Melbourne Team News

South Sudanese striker Bul Juach was the star in the 3-1 semi-final win over the Lions, coming off the bench to score a sensational second-half hat-trick.

Juach also featured for Heidelberg in last year's Australia Cup final and is a strong chance to come into the starting side here.

South Melbourne Possible Starting XI (3-4-3): Javier Díaz López, Thomas Giannakopoulos, Marco Janković, Hassan Ramazani, Jack Painter-Andrews, Sebastian Pasquali, Paulo Retre, Arran Cocks, David Seung-ho, YooYuki Uchida, Bul Juach

Melbourne Victory Form Analysis

In a competition where lots of A-League sides slumped to early eliminations, Victory held firm and now they've been rewarded with a chance to secure a third Australia Cup trophy.

Victory began their campaign with a dominant 4-0 win over Kingsborough Lions before edging out the Western Sydney Wanderers on penalties.

Giovanni Savarese's side then overcame a gallant APIA Leichhardt side 1-0 in extra-time before producing a statement performance to defeat Big Blue rivals Sydney FC 2-0 in the semi-finals.

Victory were also in action in the AFC Champions League 2 in their last competitive outing, earning a 1-1 draw away to Vietnamese side Viettel on the 16th of September.

Melbourne Victory Team News

Harry Sawyer used to lace up the boots for South Melbourne and was on target in the quarter-final win over APIA.

However, Sawyer might have to be content with coming off the bench, with Charles Nduka likely to start up front, with Clarismario Santos and Keegan Jelacic providing support on the flanks.

German central defender Philipp Ziereis has big game experience following prior stints with the likes of St Pauli and LASK Linz and should partner former Luton Town and Welsh international Tom Lockyer at the back.

Possible Melbourne Victory Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Jack Duncan, Joshua Inserra, Tom Lockyer, Philipp Ziereis, Jason Davidson, Jordi Valadon, Louis D'Arrigo, Keegan Jelacic, Matthew Grimaldi, Santos, Charles Nduka

Verdict

South Melbourne v Melbourne Victory

Victory are tipped to win the 2026 Australia Cup, with both teams finding the back of the net.

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