Melbourne Victory will be aiming to snap their two-game losing streak and return to winning ways when they take on Newcastle Jets at the Rectangular Stadium on Sunday.
Both sides have struggled for results this season, and while the visitors are eighth in the A-League table, they have played two more games than the hosts, who are rock bottom.
Match preview
© Reuters
Coming into the new season, Melbourne Victory went through a heavy squad overhaul, importing the likes of Jake Brimmer, Ben Folami and Callum McManaman as they aimed to improve on their 10th-placed finish last term.
However, Grant Brebner's men have endured a horrid start to the season, picking up just four points from six games and sitting at the bottom of the table.
Their season has been riddled with several lethargic performances, and they have suffered four losses already, including a 5-2 mauling at the hands of Brisbane Roar.
The Victory have failed to pick up a point since their uneventful goalless draw against Western United at the GMHBA Stadium in January.
Despite the firepower possessed in attack, the lack of goals has been a major concern for Brebner, whose side have scored a league-low five goals, while conceding 12.
On the other hand, the visitors Newcastle Jets find themselves languishing in eighth position after crashing into the new season with four straight defeats.
However, Craig Deans's men have hit their stride in recent weeks and are on a four-game unbeaten run, with their last defeat coming one month ago.
In that time they have picked up wins against Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City, and draws against the Wanderers and Brisbane Roar, respectively.
Melbourne City have a clear advantage in the last seven meetings of this fixture, picking up four wins, one draw and two defeats across all competitions.
The most recent clash came back in November, when Roy O'Donovan opened the scoring for the Jets before Ola Toivonen restored parity in the second half to force a 1-1 draw.
Melbourne Victory Australian A-League form: LLWDLL
Newcastle Jets Australian A-League form: LLWDWD
Team News
© Reuters
Marco Rojas is a doubt for this tie, after taking a boot to the face from Western Sydney Wanderers' Graham Dorrans last time out.
New signing Rudy Gestede has returned to full fitness after suffering a hamstring injury, but Sunday's game might come too soon for a return to the starting XI.
Callum McManaman is nearing a return to action since picking up an ankle injury in the 1-0 loss to Adelaide United.
Newcastle Jets will be without midfielder Ben Kantarovski, who is sidelined with a calf injury.
Central defender Ali Abbas is poised to make his return after fully recovering from a hamstring injury.
Melbourne Victory possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Traore, Ansell, Anderson, Roux; Broxham, Butterfield; Rojas, Brimmer, McManaman; Folami
Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Duncan; O'Toole, Topor-Stanley, Jackson, Koutroumbis; Ugarkovic, Petratos, Thurgate; Najjarine, O'Donovan, Yuel
We say: Melbourne Victory 0-1 Newcastle Jets
After a poor start, Newcastle Jets have impressed over the last month and considering their decent record away from home, we predict they steal all three points on Sunday and heap misery on their misfiring hosts.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 Newcastle Jets win with a probability of 40.48%. A win for Melbourne Victory had a probability of 34.88% and a draw had a probability of 24.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newcastle Jets win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.22%) and 0-2 (6.26%). The likeliest Melbourne Victory win was 2-1 (8.02%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.48%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Newcastle Jets would win this match.
