Melbourne City is back at AAMI Park on Saturday evening, set to host Perth Glory in our first home fixture of the 2025/26 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
It marks City’s third game in the space of a week, with momentum high following a dramatic midweek comeback victory over Buriram United in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Aurelio Vidmar’s men will now be looking to carry that energy into our domestic campaign as we chase our first league win of the season in front of our home fans.
The show goes on
City enters Saturday’s clash with confidence after producing two strong performances in quick succession. Following a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to Western Sydney to open our A-League campaign, the squad returned home on Tuesday night and delivered a thrilling 2-1 comeback win in the ACL Elite.
Elbasan Rashani’s first goal in City colours and a late Max Caputo strike sealed a memorable victory, with the result showcasing both the team’s belief and resilience.
The 20-year-old striker has now scored four goals in his last three appearances across club and country, and will again be one to watch as City looks to continue building early-season momentum.
With another short turnaround before returning to AAMI Park, Vidmar’s squad will be eager to reward the home supporters and keep that positive run going.
Forced changes
While Tuesday’s win was full of positives, it did come at a cost, with a pair of injuries picked up in the second half. Samuel Souprayen is expected to spend a few weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury, while Harry Shillington will miss this weekend due to concussion protocols.
Those absences open the door for a couple of changes to the starting XI. Nathaniel Atkinson is set to reclaim the right-back position he held in Round 1, while Liam Bonetig impressed on his professional debut after coming on for Souprayen midweek, and is in line to retain his spot in central defence.
There could also be further tweaks in attack, with Mathew Leckie training strongly and pushing for a return after he wasn’t involved midweek due to a minor knock to the knee.
Rashani could also feature from the start after his game-changing impact on Tuesday, though Vidmar told media he was ‘touch and go’ after pulling up with an injury issue from that outing.
A tricky opponent
City boasts a strong recent record against Perth Glory, winning six of the past seven meetings – but Saturday’s clash will see a very different Perth outfit take the pitch.
Under Head Coach David Zdrillic, Glory have undergone a significant transformation, adding quality and experience with the likes of Brian Kaltak, Jaiden Kucharski and Tom Lawrence.
Their Round 1 performance underlined their improvement, racing to a two-goal lead inside half an hour before ultimately drawing 2-2 with Wellington Phoenix.
While City will enter as favourites on home turf, Vidmar’s men will need to be switched on against a rejuvenated Glory side that has already shown its attacking potential early in the campaign.
Fixture Details
Isuzu UTE A-League: Round 2
Melbourne City FC v Perth Glory
Saturday 25 October
5:00pm KO
AAMI Park
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