Bentleigh Greens (4th) vs. Port Melbourne Sharks (5th)
The form:
Bentleigh remain as one of the two undefeated sides in the competition thus far, as they seem to have regained their mojo with two wins in a row, which followed a pair of draws. Port Melbourne on the other hand has struggled in recent times, with a few injuries interrupting a promising opening month in the NPL. It’s now three games that they’ve failed to score in, while Bentleigh haven’t conceded in two.
The players to watch:
Andrew Milicevic form has been key to us plugging our player feature article Port Melbourne’s work in the engine room, and the classy youngster will hope to give Trent Rixon some quality service. Did we mention he’s the Zoolander to Topa’s Hansel? Half-time entertainment for the ladies looks to be sorted when Port and Bentleigh next meet.
Bentleigh’s strengths lie everywhere, with Luke Pilkington one of the most consistent fullbacks in the league and Chris Lucas finding his feet in the league as each game moves on.
The prediction:
I can only see this going one way, and that’s in a Bentleigh win. Port Melbourne will be more that competitive, but with the sides form trajectories at the moment, you can’t look past the hosts for a 3-1 victory, with Visevic to grab his first league goal of 2015.
South Melbourne (2nd) vs. Pascoe Vale (8th)
The form:
The other unbeaten side South Melbourne continue to play their efficient form of patient football and in the process, grind out results. Nothing too flashy about them at the moment, but they know their strengths and are playing to them well. Pascoe Vale have turned their fortunes around with a strong month of football, grabbing four wins from five, with last week’s game against Bentleigh Greens perhaps stifling that momentum.
What has happened in Victorian football since South last lost a game?
The players to watch:
Tim Mala was a comfortable best on ground in South Melbourne’s win against Hume City on the weekend, and how he’ll match up against Davey van ‘t Schip – a handful for any opponent – will be key. Tom Black provides an imposing figure in midfield, while Iqi Jawadi is a midfielder of the more dynamic type.
The prediction:
This will be a bigger test for South Melbourne than they may have anticipated. Paco have spread their goal scorers well, but will be hoping to build on their second clean sheet for the season. But South have goals in them, with league’s top scorer Milos Lujic at the helm, should take the game to Vale. 2-1 to South, as the winning streak lives on.
North Geelong Warriors (14th) vs. Oakleigh Cannons (12th)
The form:
The NPL’s highest credentialed coach Miron Bleiberg has departed Oakleigh Cannons due to “business and family” reasons.
That’s the way in which Oakleigh Cannons have had to start their week. If Miron left because of “family” issues, and Oakleigh claim to be a “family club”, call us Sherlock Holmes because we’re putting these clues together.
North Geelong have so far struggled to assert themselves on the NPL Victoria, with only the solitary win to date, and their loss to Northcote City last week was the latest in a run of six straight defeats. Oakleigh’s results have picked up over the last month, with a win, two hard fought draws and last week’s narrow loss to Heidelberg. But with a new coach on board, will the returning Arthur Papas have the desired impact on the star-studded squad? The switch has already got the football circles talking, with this beautiful detective work on our page courtesy of Richmond SC’s Josh Valadon. Banter.
The players to watch:
In Goran Zoric and Dusan Bosnjak, Oakleigh possess two of the most dangerous forward options in the league. Whether it’s the formers raw pace, or the latters elegance on the ball, with talent like this at their disposal, it’s hard to see the Cannons languishing near the bottom for too long. Bosnjak may still miss out on the trip to Geelong through injury, as may Steve Pantelidis, who made way on the weekend with a leg injury. North Geelong need to improve heavily in their defensive stocks, and will get a decent chance against an Oakleigh side who’ve only managed six goals this campaign. Expect Daniel Zilic to be kept busy.
The prediction:
A much needed win for Oakleigh and the perfect start to the Arthur Papas bandwagon. 3-0 Cannons, with a fit again Kris Kioussis to grab an assist or two.
Hume City (6th) vs. Green Gully (9th)
The form:
It doesn’t make for amazing viewing for either side with Hume City currently three games without a win, losing crunch games to South Melbourne and Bentleigh Greens in the process, while it’s worse for Green Gully who’ve slipped to ninth in their five game winless run. Their last four games have however come against the top four sides in the league, with only a point to show for their struggles. Their defending at times in the absence of Roddy Vargas can be likened to the Kyrgyzstani statues in the below tweet:
Our photo of the day: ancient balbal statues in #Kyrgyzstan, one of the #Socceroos opponents for #WC2018 qualifiers. pic.twitter.com/9uDXIdcSKV
— Football Today (@myfootballtoday) April 14, 2015
The players to watch:
Only one Green Gully player needs to be watched in the build up to this contest, and that’s the aforementioned talisman Vargas. Without their defensive wall, they’ve lost 3/3 this year, and shipped 16 goals in those games. If there ever was a key player, it’s him. For Hume, there wasn’t too much to take out of the South Melbourne clash, as their forwards were pocketed by the South defence. Calvin Mbarga came close to finally breaking his league duck after plenty of pre-season promise; could it finally be his day?
The prediction:
If Vargas misses, expect a Hume win. If he plays, expect a Hume win. The hosts will be itching to set the record straight in front of their home crowd after the loss to South last week and they love to play attractive football with plenty of width. That’ll prove too good for Gully, 2-0 to Hume and a return to the winners circle.
Dandenong Thunder (11th) vs. Northcote City (10th)
The form:
The match-up for Round 10 which carries the most significance, as a win for Northcote suddenly sees them within touching distance of finals football, while the points for Dandenong could launch them five clear of relegation. Northcote grabbed an important win over North Geelong at home last week, to back up their draw against Oakleigh the week prior. The Thunder on the contrary would be disappointed to have failed to consolidate their surprise win over Port Melbourne by losing to Avondale FC, despite scoring two goals. Fun fact, Dandenong have scored twice in four out of their eight games, but have lost three of those games.
The players to watch:
All aboard the Yusuf Ahmed hype train, as the youngster continues to turn heads at George Andrews Reserve. Despite going down 3-0 against Avondale, he lead the charge for a comeback, and they came mighty close too. Speaking of youngsters, Aron Handakis has also come to the fore, with a couple of goals in Northcote’s last two games. Youth mixed with the proven talents of Marino Gasparis and James Kalafatidis should make this a tasty contest despite the respective ladder positions.
The prediction:
A tough one to call, but given I haven’t predicted a draw yet, let’s go with that. 1-1 in a tight contest, but don’t be surprised to see it fall either way.
Werribee City (13th) vs. Avondale FC (7th)
The form:
Avondale are enjoying a purple patch of form at the moment, with the promoted side grabbing 12 out of the available 15 points in the last five games. They’ve managed to grind out tough wins, with each of their results coming with a one goal margin. A team which knows all about that margin is Werribee City, who have drawn four games this year and lost five, all by that magical one goal margin. Their last result was a shut out of the free-flowing Port Melbourne Sharks, which will give them plenty of confidence heading into this crunch match.
The players to watch:
The Avondale forward line has started to swing into full motion, and Aleksiy Khrapko was the recipient last week with his deadly 25-minute hat-trick against Dandenong Thunder. Burkan Koca has been with the club for a while now and looked the goods on the weekend pulling the strings. Werribee have real strength in defence, with the pairing of Ryan Filipovic and Steven Cudrig capable of shutting out the very best forwards the league has to offer.
The prediction:
While Avondale have the third least goals in the competition, 82% of their goals have come in games they’ve won. When they score, they tend to win. Funny about that. Werribee however would’ve eyed this fixture off at a distance as a real chance to grab some points. But as it stands, they line up against Avondale at an inopportune time, as they look a real determined side at the minute. But surely Werribee are due right? My heart says 1-0 Werribee, but a narrow 0-0 or 1-1 draw looks more likely.
Heidelberg United (1st) vs. Melbourne Knights (3rd)
The form:
At the moment, Heidelberg define form, with only the solitary loss against Bentleigh Greens earlier in the season a strike against their name. Their last four games have seen a return of 12 points, 13 goals and three clean sheets. It’s been ruthlessness up top and staunch bravery at the back that’s lead to their table topping form. The Knights have been a mixed back of late, with two losses and a draw coming before their steadying win against the out of form Green Gully. This match will be a good test for the visitors as to where they truly sit on the ladder.
The players to watch:
We pointed to Heidelberg’s defence earlier with the trio of Jamie Cumming, Steven Pace and captain Luke Byles arguably the best stock of central defenders the league has to offer. But the Knights offer plenty up front, with Stipo Andrijcevic one of the best forwards in the league, as is the deadly Andrew Barisic and the returning former VPL Gold Medalist Marijan Cvitkovic who scored off the bench last week against Gully.
The prediction:
This will be a memorable clash between two competition heavyweights and it’ll be a great spectacle for those watching. A result of any kind will be massive for the Knights, while Heidelberg will be looking at all three points. But it’ll be an entertaining draw, 2-2 at Olympic Village.