Melbourne Victory play host to Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday with the opportunity to move off the bottom of the A-League standings.
Meanwhile, Wanderers can progress up to fourth position, despite having failed to win any of their last five fixtures.
Match preview
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Having failed to record a victory since March 19, Wanderers are now at risk of dropping down to eighth position in the coming weeks.
While Wanderers have become used to finishing in the bottom half of the table, Carl Robinson has work to do if he is to convince the powers-that-be that he remains the best man to lead the team forward.
As well as just six wins coming from his opening 18 matches in charge, Robinson is yet to find a solution in defence with 13 goals being conceded in seven games.
Facing lowly Victory gives Robinson and his team a chance to get back on track, moving to within three points of frontrunners Melbourne City.
However, having played more games than any other team in the division, there is now a fine margin between this season being deemed a success or failure.
Although Wanderers head into this contest on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Brisbane Roar, Victory must try to shake off a 7-0 reverse to rivals Melbourne City.
Grant Brebner must have felt that his team were making progress with four points coming from their previous three fixtures, a run which included a win over Newcastle Jets.
Despite playing an hour of the game with 10 men, succumbing so tamely to their neighbours has categorically changed that perception ahead of this game.
The home side have now shipped 28 goals in just eight fixtures, with each of their four home games during that period all ending in defeat.
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Team News
Brebner will be forced into at least one change with Adama Traore serving a ban courtesy of his dismissal in the last game.
Brandon Lauton is a potential alternative on the left flank, but Brebner may consider a change in system to accommodate different personnel.
Elvis Kamsoba and Robbie Kruse are both in line to return to the Victory XI.
Robinson is also expected to make alterations to his Wanderers starting lineup, including handing a recall to Bernie Ibini-Isei.
Kwame Yeboah will also hope for a rare opportunity in the first XI, with James Troisi in contention for a return in midfield.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Acton; Roux, Anderson, Ryan, Lauton; Butterfield, Barnett, Brimmer; Kamsoba, Folami, Kruse
Western Sydney Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Margush; Gordon, McGowan, Mourdoukoutas; Russell, Baccus, Dorrans, Aquilina; Ibini-Isei, Yeboah, Cox
We say: Melbourne Victory 1-2 Western Sydney Wanderers
Despite their position at the foot of the table, Victory will feel that they are on a par with their opponents ahead of this contest.
That said, Wanderers can ill-afford another game without success, leading us to predict a late win for the visitors.
Top tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Western Sydney Wanderers win with a probability of 48.84%. A win for Melbourne Victory had a probability of 27.35% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Western Sydney Wanderers win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.09%) and 0-2 (7.78%). The likeliest Melbourne Victory win was 2-1 (6.8%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.12%). The actual scoreline of 5-4 was predicted with a 0% likelihood.
