Melbourne City FC head coach John van ‘t Schip has confirmed Spaniard David Villa make his first start for the club against Newcastle Jets on Sunday afternoon.
The forward debuted in last weekend’s opening round draw against Sydney FC, scoring the equaliser only 15 minutes after his introduction.
“Normally David is going to start, he had a good week, we all know why he didn’t start last week. So looking at this week [there are] no issues about that,” van ‘t Schip said on Friday morning.
“I don’t want to talk about David too much, I think that’s the big thing with him coming in.
“It’s about the team, he integrated very well, we have the game against Newcastle and hopefully now with David in from the start – he’s integrated – from now on, he’s just one of the team, he was that from the beginning. He will have his role.”
International marquee Robert Koren is also expected to be handed his Melbourne City debut on the weekend.
The former West Bromich Albion and Hull City midfielder was a late withdrawal from last week’s squad with a calf complaint, and commenced training away from the main group this morning.
“Robbie, unfortunately a few days before the first game he got injured,” he said.
“We’ll see today how he’s going to come through the session and then we’ll make a decision tomorrow. Hopefully he can be with us. Otherwise he will with us next week.”
After his omission last weekend, forward David Williams was named in the squad alongside right-back Jason Hoffman who makes his return following suspension in August’s FFA Cup clash against Sydney FC.
“David (Williams) is different, he’s totally fit.”
“He trained with the team already, before the Sydney game he came back, but he was out for a few weeks so he was not able to be in the squad against Sydney,” van’t Schip explained.
“This week is a different story, he’s trained all week. He’s back in my mind for selection. Also for David, today and tomorrow, we’ll make a decision if he’s going to be in the squad.”
Despite a 1-0 defeat to the Central Coast Mariners last week, van’t Schip conceded his side were wary of a physical Newcastle Jets outfit.
“I think the boys did very well in Sydney, we had good spells in the game and maybe deserved more. But that’s gone, that’s football,” he said reflecting on last week’s performance.
“Here against Newcastle, who actually played a very good game and I think they deserved more against the Central Coast Mariners.
It’s going to be an interesting game, a tough game. Newcastle has a way of playing that’s aggressive, physical and we have to be prepared for that.”
Melbourne City kick off it’s round two clash against Newcastle Jets on Sunday afternoon at AAMI Park. Kick-off for the home clash is scheduled for 3.00pm.