The first of Saturday A-League Round 15 matches is between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory. The game is set to commence at 5.30pm with the game to be played at Westpac Stadium. Home team Wellington Phoenix go into the match as the favourites in the market. View our preview and teams for the game between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory.

Round: Round 15, Saturday January 18 at 5.30pm AEDT.
Stadium: Westpac Stadium
Head to head: Played: 19, Wins: Phoenix 2, Victory 11, Draws: 6
Previous encounter: Victory 3-2 Phoenix, November 4 2013

Wellington Phoenix $2.30 vs Melbourne Victory $2.90 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Wellington Phoenix $2.30 vs Melbourne Victory $2.90 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison:

Wellington Phoenix	2.30	2.40	2.30	2.40	2.30	2.30
Draw	3.50	3.45	3.35	3.45	3.50	3.40
Melbourne Victory	2.90	2.75	2.90	2.27	2.90	2.80

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Teams:

Wellington Phoenix Squad:
1.Glen Moss (GK), 2.Manny Muscat, 5.Michael Boxall, 7.Leo Bertos, 9.Kenny Cunningham, 10.Stein Huysegems, 11.Jeremy Brockie, 12.Tyler Boyd, 13.Albert Riera, 15.Jason Hicks, 17.Vince Lia, 18.Ben Sigmund, 20.Lewis Italiano (GK), 21.Carlos Hernandez, 22.Andrew Durante (c), 23.Matthew Ridenton, 24.Roy Krishna.
**One to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Leo Bertos (promoted)
Outs: Nil.
Unavailable: 8.Paul Ifill (ruptured Achilles, 8 to 12 months), 16.Louis Fenton (shoulder injury, season).

Melbourne Victory Squad:
1.Nathan COE (gk), 2.Pablo CONTRERAS, 3.Adama TRAORE, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Gui FINKLER, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 14.James TROISI, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.James JEGGO, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 23.Adrian LEIJER, 26.Jordan BROWN, 27.Christopher CRISTALDO, 31.Dylan MURNANE 32.Milos RIDESIC
**One to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Pablo CONTRERAS (returns from suspension), 27.Christopher CRISTALDO (promoted)
Outs: 13.Andrew NABBOUT (concussion)
Unavailable: 4.Nick ANSELL (international duty – Young Socceroos), 5.Mark MILLIGAN (knee, 4-6 weeks).11.Connor PAIN (international duty – Young Socceroos), 15.Mitch NICHOLS (knee – 1 week), 24.Scott GALLOWAY (international duty – Young Socceroos), 25.Jason GERIA (international duty – Young Socceroos)

Preview:

Form:
Past five matches:

Phoenix: DWWWL
Victory: WDLDW

The Game:

Melbourne Victory and Wellington need a win for different reasons when they meet at Westpac Stadium on Saturday. Kevin Muscat’s undermanned Victory side claimed a surprisingly comfortably 3-1 win over Western Sydney last time out, keeping their chances of winning the Premiers’ Plate alive. The Phoenix are on a four-match unbeaten run – which has included three wins – to be just five points adrift of the top six after their slow start to the season. A loss for either would hurt, but the Victory need the three points more urgently given Brisbane and Western Sydney could build a big buffer as the top two.

The big issue:

Phoenix – can the Phoenix improve what has been a poor home record so far this season? Ernie Merrick’s side have just one win from seven home matches this season, scoring just five goals in front of their home fans. A decent record away from home has helped, but the Phoenix need to start improving at Wellington if they are to make a serious push for a finals place. Scoring a few more goals would be a good start.

Victory – this shapes as an opportunity to make it back-to-back wins for just the third time this season. A vital win over the Wanderers will count for little should they fail to back it up, despite being undermanned due to injuries and international duty. The win over Western Sydney proved the Victory have enough talent and depth to produce consistently and their line-up – if they have recovered sufficiently from Tuesday’s match in the heat – has enough quality to claim three points once more.

The game breaker:

Kosta Barbarouses – the New Zealander has yet to reach the levels most expected after he joined the Victory, but may be nearing some of his best form after a good display against Western Sydney. Barbarouses set up Archie Thompson’s opener at AAMI Park before a wonderful finish after beating Nikolai Topor-Stanley in a one-on-one. If he can produce more of the same, Barbarouses will become a key in the Victory’s attack.

Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au