Western United is back at AAMI Park and out for revenge in the latest Isuzu UTE A-League Men derby fixture against Melbourne Victory on Friday night. Read our Match Preview, presented by Red Bull Australia.
Match Details
2024/25 Isuzu UTE A-League Men Round 13
Melbourne Victory vs Western United
Friday,10 January
Kick-off: 7:35pm AEDT
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+ and on 10 Bold
Western United Team News
Western United will welcome back last week’s hero with Jordan Lauton serving his suspension and ready to be involved once again after his bicycle kick winner in Perth.
Joining Lauton back in contention is Abel Walatee who has progressed quickly in his recovery from a knee injury to be back in the frame to face Victory.
The remainder of the Western United squad is fit and ready to go with only James Donachie, Sebastian Pasquali and Khoder Kaddour remaining longer term absentees.
Western United squad: 1. Tom HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 6. Tomoki IMAI, 7. Ramy NAJJARINE, 9. Hiroshi IBUSUKI, 10. Matthew GRIMALDI, 13. Tate RUSSELL, 14. Jake NAJDOVSKI, 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 19. Noah BOTIC, 20. Abel WALATEE, 22. Kane VIDMAR, 23. Rhys BOZINOVSKI, 24. Michael RUHS, 30. Dylan LEONARD, 32. Angus THURGATE, 33. Matthew SUTTON (gk), 34. James YORK, 37. Luke VICKERY, 44. Jordan LAUTON, 77. Riku DANZAKI
Last time out
Western United saw its four-game Isuzu UTE A-League Men come to an end on Tuesday with a 2-0 defeat to Melbourne City.
A goal in each half secured the result on a night where United just couldn’t make it connect in the final third despite some positive passages of play.
Previous Meetings
Only Melbourne City has been a more frequent opponent than Victory has for Western United with some of the Club’s most famous results coming against its fierce rivals.
The Green and Black has seven wins to Victory’s six in the 16 meetings so far, including each of the first three in the Club’s inaugural season.
The biggest triumph over Victory came in the semi-final second leg on the way to winning the Championship in 2022.
Since then, the head-to-head record has been evenly split with two wins each and a draw in the last five games.
Key Matchup: Angus Thurgate vs Zinedine Machach
There is an argument to be made that this match faces the league’s best No.6 up against the premier No.10 in the competition with Angus Thurgate and Zinedine Machach set to do battle in midfield.
Thurgate has been immense for United since the first whistle in Round 1, playing every single minute of the campaign so far and consistently being one of the best players on the pitch.
The 24-year-old has been everywhere on both sides of the ball, ranking sixth in the league for interceptions and ninth for tackles won while chipping in offensively with a goal and two assists.
Machach had seven goals and five assists to his name last season and has started this season at a slightly slower pace, though has still contributed four goals in 10 appearances thus far.
His athleticism and powerful running through the centre of the pitch makes him a handful for opposition players to deal with, as does his special intelligence and the quality of his final product.
Machach scored against United last time out and Thurgate will be looking to be at his best to shut him out this time around and set the Green and Black up for victory.
Western United Player to Watch: Ben Garuccio
Working his way back to full fitness, Ben Garuccio has offered an instant reminder of his quality and importance to Western United’s back four and the entire team.
The captain has been thrown right into the deep end after coming back from injury, getting through consecutive starts last week.
The last time he played against Melbourne Victory, Garuccio had a goal and an assist and he will no doubt be looking for a repeat performance to help carry his team to three points.
