Glory’s clashes with Melbourne Victory have rarely lacked drama and excitement over the years and Kenny Lowe is expecting that trend to be maintained in Sunday’s Round 7 meeting between the two sides at nib Stadium.
Honours were even last term with a win apiece along with a draw in Round 9, but you have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the navy-and-whites enjoyed the taste of victory here in the West.
Despite that poor run and the fact that they are still searching for their first win of the season, however, Head Coach Lowe is predicting that the navy-and-whites will come out all guns blazing this weekend.
“I know our members and fans look forward to these Victory games and it’s the same for the staff and the players,” he said.
“There always seems to be plenty going on in terms of goals, controversy and thrills and spills and it’s hard to imagine that Sunday’s game will be any different.
“Kevin [Muscat – Victory’s Head Coach] will have his lads fired up as they look for that first win and given the size and quality of their squad, you imagine it’s only a matter of time before they start putting some results together.
“Obviously we just need to make sure that they don’t start that improvement this week!
“I can’t see it being anything other than an open game as both sides have great attacking options and I’m sure everyone will be kept on the edge of their seats.
“We’re determined to make it three from three at home.”
Key Stats
Victory have won only one of their last nine meetings with Glory and have lost on each of their last three visits to nib Stadium
Glory currently have the highest shooting accuracy in the league at 59.2% which is 10% higher than the next best
Victory have the worst disciplinary record in the league this season, while Glory have the best
50% of Glory’s goals so far this year have been headers
Players that have represented both clubs over the years include Billy Celeski, Tom Pondeljak, Danny Vukovic, Steve Pantelidis, Nick Ward, Evan Berger, Adrian Caceres and Michael Thwaite
Mitch Nichols and Rhys Williams also feature on that list and both may well start today
The first meeting between the two sides (in September 2005) ended 2-2, with current Victory Head Coach Kevin Muscat equalising for the navy-and-whites from the penalty spot with five minutes left
Match Details
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 4:00 PM (Local) (7:00 PM AEDT)
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
Video Assistant Referee: Eddie Lennie
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvMVC
To purchase tickets please visit http://bit.ly/2jeYa1o
Perth Glory Squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 8.Xavi TORRES, 9.Andy KEOGH (c), 11.Mitch MALLIA, 13 Nick FEELY (GK), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joseph MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Andreu GUERAO, 19.Joe KNOWLES, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (GK)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 16.Joseph MILLS (promoted), 29.Jeremy WALKER (promoted)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 22.Adam TAGGART (Injured), 25.Daniel STYNES (hamstring 2-3 weeks), 7.Joel CHIANESE (collar bone – 2-3 weeks), 3.Marc WARREN (ankle 7-8 weeks), 22.Adam TAGGART (hamstring 5-7 weeks)
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Matt ACTON (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 4.Rhys WILLIAMS, 5.Mark MILLIGAN, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI, 11.Mitch AUSTIN, 14.Thomas DENG, 18.Matias SANCHEZ, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Stefan NIGRO, 23.Jai INGHAM, 31.Christian THEOHAROUS, 41.Leroy GEORGE
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Mark MILLIGAN, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI (all return from international duty), 11.Mitch AUSTIN (returns from suspension)
Outs: 15.Cameron McGILP, 16.Josh HOPE (both omitted)
Unavailable: 17.James DONACHIE (quad)
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