Melbourne City enter tonight’s contest against Newcastle Jets having eased some pressure on themselves with a 3-1 win over Central Coast last week.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as Patrick Kisnorbo’s opening goal was cancelled out by Nick Fitzgerald’s wonder strike, before Bruno Fornaroli sealed the contest with a brace after the break.
The Uruguayan has emerged as a genuine goalscoring threat this season, an asset the club has long desired to lead the line.
John van’t Schip has made a prominent statement this week, dropping the fit Erik Paartalu for the second week running, with the defensive midfielder’s performances being sub-par so far this season.
In his place, Jacob Melling will retain his spot after an energetic performance against the Mariners.
David Williams and Corey Gameiro have been on the return from injury, and both looked lively in the cameos off the bench last week. Jack Clisby is also set to return after a minor injury.
Meanwhile, Michael Zullo, Robi Koren, Ivan Franjic and Aaron Hughes are still out on the sidelines, with the latter the closest to returning to action, most likely next week.
City come up against a Newcastle side that have taken six points from a possible nine this season, including a smash and grab win over Melbourne Victory in Round 3.
David Carney was again the most clinical performer in that game, scoring with a long distance strike to spare the blushes of misfiring new striker Milos Trifunovic, who bottled a number of good opportunities to break the deadlock.
While their performances have been scrappy, the side has shown an ability to take three points against the odds, a feat seldom achieved under Phil Stubbins last season.
Key Battles
Bruno Fornaroli vs Nigel Boogard
While the defensive pairing of Nigel Boogard and Daniel Mullen were solid last week, Victory did have chances to score, but missed their opportunities. Bruno Fornaroli will be looking to go one better and put away his chances, and it will be up to one of Boogard or Mullen to nullify his attacking threat.
Ben Garruccio vs David Carney
Garruccio may just have another week in the starting XI as Clisby returns from injury, with Carney proving another stern test for the youngster. It may just be up to Garruccio to do what Dylan Murnane couldn’t do last week – close down Carney at all times.
Predicted lineup:
Bench: Pavlidis (GK), Clisby, Zinni, Gameiro, Trifiro
Prediction
A scrappier affair than last week, with City – who haven’t yet kept a clean sheet this season – to come away 2-1 winners.