Melbourne City are finalising preparations for its first fixture back at AAMI Park since the World Cup break.
There’s plenty to keep eye out for on the pitch when we face Victory in the 40th edition of the Melbourne Derby.
Our only home Derby of the season
Saturday’s clash against Victory will be our only home Derby of the 2022/23 Men’s season and like the many that have come before it, it’s set to be a stellar match-up between the two rivals.
Melbourne Derbies are always a must-watch with both sides playing out some absolute epics over the years, and this Saturday’s clash is set to be no different.
City will be eager to return to winning ways this Saturday after going down to Sydney FC 2-1 on the road in what was the teams first loss of the season, despite leading early thanks to a Jamie Maclaren penalty.
Victory will be looking towards the likes of Bruno Fornaroli and Nick D’Agostino for inspiration up front, but they’ll be put to the test by a strong City defence that has only conceded the six goals so far this campaign.
With City sitting in top spot and Victory six points behind in 5th, both sides will be desperate to secure all three points.
A strong recent run against Victory
City have enjoyed a strong run of form against the Victory in recent seasons, going undefeated in seven of its past eight games with of course a few big wins in that period.
City will no doubt be eager to stamp its authority on the Derby with another emphatic victory come Saturday.
With Jamie Maclaren firing all season long amid some great performances across the park from your City boys, AAMI Park could see plenty of goals come Saturday night.
Maclaren chases more history
Jamie Maclaren has always had a remarkable knack for scoring goals, that’s nothing new.
Maclaren’s electric start to the 2022/23 season, where he’s scored 9 goals already – including at least one in every game – sees history fast approaching.
Maclaren’s well taken penalty against Sydney FC extended his goalscoring run to seven straight games and should he find the back of the night against the Victory, he would equal Andy Keogh’s Australian National Leagues record of eight straight games.
It’s just another record that Maclaren now has the chance to claim his own (or at least equal for now) further cementing his place as one of the greatest goalscorers the A-Leagues have ever seen.
Socceroos Return to AAMI Park
Saturday night’s game will mark the first appearance back at AAMI Park for City’s Socceroos heroes after their heroics in Qatar at the FIFA World Cup.
Matthew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren and Marco Tilio’s last appearance at AAMI Park was in City’s convincing 4-0 win of Perth Glory back in November, a game in which that trio all featured on the scoresheet.
Already fan favourites amongst City supporters, their performance with the national team has seen them become much-loved names around the country.
