Two teams at opposite ends of the table square off as Melbourne City take on Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Saturday.
The Melbourne derby is one of the most heated rivalries in the Australian top-flight and each side will aim to claim the win, alongside local bragging rights when they trade tackles on Saturday.
Match preview
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Melbourne City's charge to the top of the A-League table took a slight halt as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sydney FC last time out.
In a dramatic end to the game, Jamie Maclaren calmly converted his spot kick in the 98th minute after the video assistant referee awarded a penalty for a foul on Marco Tilo.
With 28 points from 15 games, Steve Corica's men are third in the league, one point behind second-placed Adelaide United and two behind league leaders Central Coast Mariners.
The City know they can move into first place with a win, and they will be confident of getting the desired result as they take on an out-of-sorts Melbourne Victory side.
The visitors claimed their third win of the season when they came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Newcastle Jets at the McDonald Jones Stadium last time out.
Dylan Ryan's 48th-minute strike canceled out Apostolos Stamatelopoulos's opener before Lleyton Brook completed the comeback with 11 minutes left on the clock.
The result brought no change to the shape of the table, with Grant Brebner's men still rooted at the bottom with 11 points, while the Jets are one point above them in 11th place.
However, they were able to end their run of seven games without victory, dating back to a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix back in February.
The Sky Blues will look to build on this result and move up the table, but they face the daunting task of taking on Melbourne City, who claimed an emphatic 6-0 win in March's reverse fixture.
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Team News
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Twenty-one-year-old full-back Nathaniel Atkinson is expected to miss at least two months of action after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3-0 win over Wellington Phoenix on February 5.
Melbourne City will also be without the services of Aiden O'Neill, who has been ruled out since January with a back injury.
With 14 goals and five assists in 15 games, Australian-born striker Jamie Maclaren has been a standout performer for the hosts, and he will once again lead their attack on Saturday.
On the other hand, Melbourne Victory defender Ryan Shotton will sit out this tie as he recovers from a knee injury.
The Englishman made his comeback from a groin problem in the 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners in March, but he would spend less than 45 minutes on the pitch, as he picked up a knee injury.
Rudy Gestede recently returned to full training but remains a doubt as he was unnamed in the squad that travelled to Newcastle Jets last week.
Elvis Kamsoba is now available for selection after serving a one-match suspension for his sending-off in the 3-0 loss to Sydney FC two Sundays ago.
Melbourne City possible starting lineup:
Acton; Traore, Ryan, Ansell, Roux; Barnett, Butterfield; Brimmer, Kruse, McManaman; Folami
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Glover; Garuccio, Good, Reis, Galloway; Griffiths, Metcalfe, Berenguer; Noone, Nabbout, Maclaren
We say: Melbourne City 3-1 Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory fell to a 6-0 thumping at the hand of the hosts a little over a month ago, and they will need their A-game to prevent another defeat in this fixture.
However, considering Melbourne City boasts a better squad and are currently the more in-form side, we predict they grab all three points fairly comfortably.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Melbourne City win with a probability of 63.81%. A draw had a probability of 19.7% and a win for Melbourne Victory had a probability of 16.54%.
The most likely scoreline for a Melbourne City win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.78%) and 1-0 (9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.11%), while for a Melbourne Victory win it was 1-2 (4.6%). The actual scoreline of 7-0 was predicted with a 0.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Melbourne City would win this match.
