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Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney: A-League Saturday preview

Melbourne Victory will be looking to get back to winning ways when Western Sydney come visiting on Saturday, having gone three A-League matches without success.

Big V were rocked by the unexpected departure of manager Patrick Kisnorbo last month, while Wanderers will want to recover from Wednesday’s disappointing 3-2 CommBank Stadium defeat to Macarthur FC.

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney betting preview

Victory can land overdue success

Victory have faced tough trips to Auckland FC and Sydney FC in their last two A-League matches and they will be looking to bounce back when Western Sydney come to the AAMI Park on Saturday.

Arthur Diles’ men picked up a creditable 0-0 draw in New Zealand last weekend and it does look like a period for the interim manager to steady the ship.

Former coach Kisnorbo departed for the J-League just five days before last month’s Melbourne derby and that was a move that shocked the club.

Kisnorbo had only been in charge of Big V for six months before calling time on his tenure and the Victory are now faced with a period of transition.

 The Boys in Blue did play well against Melbourne City in their first contest following the departure of Kisnorbo and Victory were clearly the better side in the 1-1 draw with their city rivals.

The Big V then moved on to a 3-0 defeat at Sydney, but that clash was heavily influenced by Zinedine Machach's first-half red card.

 Diles’ side had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Auckland last weekend, but that was on the long trip to New Zealand and the recent exertions of Victory are the big concern when Western Sydney come to the capital.

Wanderers looked to be heading in the right direction and, while Dean Pelekanos’ red card didn’t assist their hopes of beating Macarthur FC, Alen Stajcic’s side were already 3-1 down before the defender was dismissed.

Pelekanos will now miss the trip to Melbourne through suspension and that’s not good news for a side which has won only four of 10 league matches this season.

Western Sydney have never won an A-League title, but the Red and Blacks have won an Asian Champions League crown, however, Wanderers haven’t been able to find the progress and consistency which departed with former boss Tony Popovic.

Victory are 1.65 to get back to winning ways against Wanderers.

Wanderers defence could be found wanting

Western Sydney have conceded 20 goals so far this season, which is the third most in the A-League. 

Wanderers have allowed 12 strikes in their last six games and injuries across the backline have left their squad very light in defence. 

The suspension to Dean Pelekanos won’t help Stajcic’s plans to tighten up his rearguard and Victory have enough quality to punish their depleted visitors.

The Boys in Blue have scored at least two goals in their four home league matches played so far this season and Diles’ side look to have a strong chance of bettering those goalscoring efforts against a weakened Wanderers defence.

Victory can be backed at 2.75 to score over 2 goals on Saturday.

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Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney odds

Melbourne Victory - 1.65
Draw -
4.20
Western Sydney -
4.75

View the full market and more odds for Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney 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.

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