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Melbourne Victory will entertain reigning champions and local rivals Melbourne City in A-League action at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Saturday (October 22).
This will be the first Melbourne Derby of the season, and there's a lot of excitement for the game. The hosts kicked off their campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 win at Sydney FC earlier this month but fell to a 1-0 loss in the first home game last week to Western Sydney Wanderers.
Melbourne City, meanwhile, have got their title defence off to a great start, recording consecutive wins. Jamie Maclaren's first-half brace helped them to a 2-0 win at Brisbane Roar last week.
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City are atop the standings with six points, while the hosts trail them by three points and are in sixth place.
Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the 39th edition of the Melbourne Derby across competitions. As expected, the games have been fiercely contested, with the hosts having a narrow 14-13 lead in wins, while 11 games have ended in draws.
- City are winless in their last four meetings against Victory, with three games ending in draws. Victory won 3-0 at home in April last season.
- City have scored two goals in their first two games, and their tally of four goals is the second-best attacking record in the competition.
- Victory have scored three goals, with all of them coming in their campaign opener.
- Victory have lost their three league games at home. They have also conceded at least once in their last five league outings.
Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City Prediction
Victory recorded a 3-0 win at home last season over their local rivals and will hope for a similar performance. They didn't score in their first home game of the season, losing 1-0. It was their third loss at home in the A-league, which doesn't augur well for their victory hopes.
City are one of three teams in the A-League with a 100% record. Having scored twice in their first two games of the season, they are likely to do so again.
As the games between them have been closely contested, both teams should put in a solid display, but City should come out on top, given their better form.
Prediction: Melbourne Victory 1-2 Melbourne City
Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - City
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: City to score first - Yes
Tip 5: Jamie Maclaren to score any time - Yes
