Western United will be looking to bounce back from last weekend's defeat and climb the Australian A-League table when they host high-flying Melbourne City.
With Western playing their home matches at three different venues during the 2020-21 campaign, Thursday's encounter will not seem like an away day for the 'visitors' as the match is to be played at their home stadium AAMI Park.
Match preview
Western United suffered their third defeat in four matches when they lost 2-1 away to newly-promoted Macarthur last weekend.
The Geelong outfit took an early lead when right wing-back Dylan Pierias curled a brilliant left-footed strike into the top corner to score his second in successive matches.
However, goals from former Blackburn Rovers striker Matt Derbyshire and former Athletic Bilbao winger Markel Susaeta turned the game on its head just before half time, giving Macarthur the lead which they were able to hold onto in the second half.
That result saw Western United slip down to tenth in the table, although they have played fewer games than all the other 11 A-League sides and have up to three games in hand on some of their rivals.
Western's next six matches will see them face teams at opposite ends of the table. Thursday's clash with Melbourne City will be followed by a game against fellow strugglers Newcastle Jets and then their meeting with table-toppers Central Coast Mariners is sandwiched between two matches with ninth-placed Wellington Phoenix, before facing second-placed Adelaide United at the end of April.
Mark Rudan's hopes of building a run of consistent form may be difficult to achieve given their schedule, but a victory on Thursday would provide a much-needed boost for his side going forward and could see them climb as high as seventh in the A-League standings.
Melbourne City recorded their second victory against Western Sydney Wanderers in the month of March as they comfortably won 4-1 on home soil last Friday.
Despite falling behind in the 21st minutes through Wanderers forward Bernie Ibini-Isei, a brace from Craig Noone as well as strikes from Andrew Nabbout and Jamie Maclaren sealed another three points for Patrick Kisnorbo's side.
The Sky Blues, who have extended their winning run to six matches, moved into third place in the table and are just two points behind A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners with two games in hand.
Melbourne City have an impressive record against Thursday's opponents Western United, as they have won all five of their previous meetings against them, most recently securing a narrow 2-1 victory in January.
Kisnorbo's men have lost only four of their top-flight games so far this campaign, however three of those defeats have been away from home.
With the A-League's top two – the Mariners and Adelaide United – facing each other two hours later, Melbourne City would climb to the summit momentarily, and could stay there if the current league leaders were to drop points.
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Team News
After recovering from concussion and returning to the bench against Macarthur, Western United goalkeeper Filip Kurto could be in contention to start on Thursday ahead of Ryan Scott.
Veteran defender Andrew Durante and midfielder Steven Lustica could also return to the first XI, replacing Tomislav Uskok and Luke Duzel respectively.
Melbourne City are still without midfielder Aiden O'Neill, who has been out since January with a lower back injury.
The Sky Blues could also be without centre-back Nuno Reis, who was forced off after just 20 minutes in the win over Central Coast Mariners. Rostyn Griffiths could keep his place in the starting lineup alongside Curtis Good if the Portuguese international is not fit to play.
Striker Maclaren, who is currently the A-League's top goalscorer with 12 strikes in 12 appearances, is expected to lead the line once again.
The 27-year-old is likely to be supported by attacking midfield trio Noone, Nabbout and Florin Berenguer.
Western United possible starting lineup:
Kurto; Imai, Durante, Calver; Pierias, Sanchez, Lustica, Pain; Diamanti, Guarrotxena; Berisha
Melbourne City possible starting lineup:
Glover; Atkinson, Griffiths, Good, Jamieson; Metcalfe, Gomulka; Nabbout, Berenguer, Noone; Maclaren
We say: Western United 0-2 Melbourne City
Western United have scored in four of their previous five meetings with Melbourne City, but they have never claimed three points against them.
With the current form of the Sky Blues, we feel that they have enough quality to seal another victory on Thursday and extend their winning run to seven matches.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 Melbourne City win with a probability of 49.07%. A win for Western United had a probability of 28.39% and a draw had a probability of 22.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Melbourne City win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.36%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.28%) and 0-2 (6.8%). The likeliest Western United win was 2-1 (6.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.02%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood.
