North Melbourne v Melbourne: AFL Sunday Preview

North Melbourne and Melbourne head into Sunday’s derby showdown on the back of Round 1 defeats and desperate to avoid a 0-2 start to the campaign.

The Kanagroos had a great opportunity to start with a win at Western Bulldogs, only to let it slip through their fingers in a 16-point defeat.

The same can be said for the Demons, who were close to beating Greater Western Sydney, before the visitors kicked the last two goals to win by three points.

There were positives for both sides to take from the defeats, and they will look to bounce back at Marvel Stadium.

It was a close encounter when the two sides met last year, and another nail-biter could be on the cards here.

North Melbourne v Melbourne betting preview

Promising signs for Kangaroos

There were some promising signs for North Melbourne against Western Bulldogs, but they still ended up with zero points.

The Kangaroos need to start picking up wins to show they are making progress, and a win over their arch rivals would be huge.

They lost by just three points when the two sides met in Round 15 last season, and would love to go one better and win this one.

If it is to be tight again, they can be backed at 6.50 to win by 1-12 points.

Nick Larkey once again showed his class when booting five goals in the loss to the Bulldogs.

The gun forward can be backed at 10.00 to boot the first goal of the game, or 1.08 to score at anytime.

So close for Demons

Melbourne came so close to beating GWS and getting off to the perfect start, and now the pressure is on against the Kangaroos.

It is important they avoid a 0-3 start, and history is on their side, as they have won the last three meetings.

Another huge plus for the Demons was the performance of Christian Petracca against the Giants last weekend.

He showed he is back to his best with 27 disposals and a couple of goals, and more of the same will be the request from head coach Simon Goodwin.

The gun midfielder is 1.36 to collect 25+ disposals once again.

Petracca can also be backed at 1.19 to boot a goal at anytime.

The Demons are also boosted by the return of premiership forward Charlie Spargo, who is 17.00 to kick the first goal of the game.

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North Melbourne v Melbourne odds

North Melbourne - 3.10
Melbourne - 1.38

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.