Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United: A-League Saturday preview

Melbourne Victory play host to Adelaide United in a crucial clash as the battle to secure a top-six spot in in the A-League hots up, but both sides go into this game struggling for form.

The Victory have won just one of their last four league games to stand in fifth place on the ladder ahead of the resumption of the A-League following the international break.

Adelaide are a place below their hosts and on the same points tally of 33, but the Reds are in a downward spiral, having gone winless across their last five league matches.

Top-six spots and Finals football are far from certain for either team, so the Saturday evening Original Rivalry showdown at AAMI Park has plenty riding on it.

Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United betting preview

Victory enjoy home advantage

The Victory are unbeaten at home to the Reds in their last four meetings, but it is worth noting that three of those matches ended in 1-1 draws, so there is not much to choose between these two teams.

Head coach Arthur Diles at least has the benefit of a nearly fully fit roster to choose from, with Brazilian forward Clerismario Santos the only notable injury absentee.

He will want to see a big reaction to losing a two-goal lead in a 4-2 loss at Western Sydney just before an international break which saw Nishan Velupillay score against both Indonesia and China.

The 23-year-old went into action with the Socceroos on the back of strikes in both the 3-0 win over Central Coast Mariners and the loss to Western Sydney, meaning that he has now scored in four games in a row for club and country.

Velupillay is 3.60 to score at anytime against Adelaide on Saturday, while veteran striker Bruno Fornaroli is 2.05 to find the net, having only scored once in his last seven appearances.

The 2-0 win in China also saw Victory winger Ryan Teague make his national team debut and he impressed hugely in the 77 minutes he was on the pitch.

Reds stuck in a major rut

A couple of months ago Adelaide were the closest challengers to ladder leaders Auckland FC, but they have since claimed just one victory in eight in the A-League and have failed to win any of their last five.

The Reds have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 matches and 15 goals conceded in their last five point to major issues in defence which head coach Carl Veart will be desperate to fix.

He remains relatively content with the way his team are playing, but told the media ahead of this Original Rivalry clash: "We haven't picked up the points that we would like to have over the last six to seven weeks. We're getting punished for one or two bad mistakes."

Those mistakes have to be eradicated if Adelaide are to turn things around in time to make it to Finals, with five more regular season games to be played after Saturday's fixture.

The Reds at least have the knowledge that they edged out the Victory 3-2 in South Australia earlier this season and this looks like being another closely fought encounter with so much at stake.

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Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United odds

Melbourne Victory - 1.95
Draw - 3.90
Adelaide United - 3.50

View the full market and more odds for Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United on site

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.