Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory prediction, preview, team news and more

The A-League returns to the fold with another set of matches this week as Wellington Phoenix take on Melbourne Victory on Wednesday. Both teams have been inconsistent in recent weeks and will want to win this game.

Melbourne Victory are in fourth place in the A-League standings and have endured a minor slump after a strong start to the season. The away side won the FFA Cup over the weekend and will be confident ahead of this fixture.

Wellington Phoenix, on the other hand, are in seventh place in the league table at the moment and have not been at their best this season. The New Zealand-based outfit have improved over the past month and will need to prove a point this week.

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory Head-to-Head

Melbourne Victory have a good record against Wellington Phoenix and have won 22 out of 43 matches played between the two teams. Wellington Phoenix have managed 10 victories against Melbourne Victory and will need to improve their record in this fixture.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place last month in the FFA Cup semi-final and ended in a 2-1 victory for Melbourne Victory. Wellington Phoenix gave a good account of themselves on the day but will need to take it up a notch this weekend.

Wellington Phoenix form guide in the A-League: W-W-L-L-L

Melbourne Victory form guide in the A-League: D-D-W-D-W

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory Team News

Wellington Phoenix

Oliver Sail has made progress with his recovery but might not be able to feature in this game. Gary Hooper is injured and will also be ruled out of the match against Melbourne Victory this week.

Injured: Gary Hooper

Doubtful: Oskar van Hattum, Oliver Sail

Unavailable: None

Melbourne Victory

Chris Ikonomidis has recovered from his injury and will be available for selection. Matthew Spiranovic and Roderick Miranda are carrying knocks and might not feature in this game.

Injured: None

Doubtful: Matthew Spiranovic, Roderick Miranda

Unavailable: None

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory Predicted XI

Wellington Phoenix Predicted XI (4-4-2): Alex Paulsen; Sam Sutton, Joshua Laws, Tim Payne, Louis Fenton; Alex Rufer, Clayton Lewis, Reno Piscopo, Jaushua Sotirio; Ben Waine, David Ball

Melbourne Victory Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Matt Acton; Aisen Ishak, Leigh Broxham, Edmond Lupancu, Stefan Nigro; Joshua Brilliante, Jay Barnett; Robbie Kruse, Jake Brimmer, Lleyton Brooks; Francesco Margiotta

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory Prediction

Melbourne Victory have consistently punched above their weight so far this season and are in good form at the moment. The away side has been held to a few draws in recent weeks and will need to be clinical in this fixture.

Wellington Phoenix saw their FFA Cup aspirations come to a grinding halt against Melbourne Victory and will be gunning for revenge. Both teams are evenly matched at the moment and could share the spoils this week.

Prediction: Wellington Phoenix 2-2 Melbourne Victory

About the author

Aditya is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda, covering previews, news, post-match articles and live blogs for 5 years. During his time here, he has had the privilege of covering a press meeting during the collaboration between his favorite club Bengaluru FC and Sevilla, where he got a chance to interact with Sevilla president Jose Castro and explore the grassroots development in his city.

Aditya started following the sport after being dazzled by Ronaldinho’s silky feet at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is a Barcelona fan and unsurprisingly, his favorite manager and players are Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta respectively. He admires the latter for his superhuman talent and his off-pitch demeanor, and his winning goal in Spain’s 2010 World Cup final win over the Netherlands left a lasting impact on Aditya.

The match-preview specialist believes that his ongoing five-year stint at Sportskeeda has given him the ability to identify the distinct line between emotional and fact-based articles, which separates him from other journalists. For him, fact-checking is the most integral part of his writing process and he only relies on authentic platforms for data.

Aditya is a semi-professional pianist and likes to participate in concerts and recitals when not immersed in football.

Know More

Edited by Aditya Hosangadi

Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory prediction, preview, team news and more | A-League 2021-22