The mid-season transfer window has already seen some key players move clubs, can they make an immediate impact and turn the competition on its head?
South Melbourne v St Albans Saints
8:00 pm, Tuesday 20 June, Lakeside Stadium
It was a peculiar night to start off Round 19, but nonetheless, South Melbourne took on a depleted St Albans on Tuesday night at Lakeside Stadium, the final time in which South will play at their traditional home in the home and away season due to works occurring during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It was a tremendous opening few minutes with Max Mikkola slotting it home from the spot, and the home side’s dead-ball prowess was on full display, with goals arriving via Lirim Elmazi and Patrick Langlois from set-plays.
Jack Painter-Andrews also got in on the fun as well, as South closed out the first half with a comprehensive buffer over Dinamo.
St Albans performed well in the second half, providing an amicable response to a first half to forget.
- Neal Symons
Green Gully v Avondale
8:00 pm, Friday 23 June, Green Gully Reserve
Green Gully returned to form with a clinical victory over Altona last week, while Avondale won its sixth straight game in a 3-0 win over Moreland City.
This top-six clash looms as a massive encounter for both sides with their end-of-season aspirations in the back of their minds.
Avondale took care of business in Round 18, however this week the Cavaliers pose a much greater threat to the ladder leaders.
With forward Manny Aguek departing for a move overseas, veteran Liam Boland stepped up on the weekend with a brace to bring his season tally to nine and will be a tough matchup for Green Gully full-backs Taylor Schrivers and Justin Spiteri.
The Avengers' forward half has been uncontrollable this season (61 goals) with Stefan Zinni and Zander Guy also scoring nine goals for the season, while Liston Diaz has also found the back of the net two weeks in a row and Yousef Ahmed will make life difficult for Green Gully's Jordam Lampard on the wing.
Green Gully's return to the winners' list coincided with striker Pierce Waring's return to form, scoring four goals to equal Altona's Jonas Markovski atop the Golden Boot race. The crafty forward will create plenty of headaches for Avondale defenders Blake Carpenter, and Kalilou Kamara.
Cavaliers' midfielder Luc Jeggo (2 goals, 2 assists) took control of the midfield battle last week in the absence of Josh Hope and was supported by Gianluca Iannucci (1 goal, 8 assists) and Nahuel Bonada who set up Waring's final goal of the match.
Avondale star Kristian Trajcevski came off the bench last week but he should slot back into the fold alongside Stefan Zinni, Zander Guy and Joey Katebian who has risen to another level in recent weeks.
Earlier this season, Avondale defeated Green Gully at home 3-2 with Liston Diaz scoring the decisive goal.
Can Green Gully upset the ladder-leaders or will Avondale make it seven wins in a row?
North Geelong Warriors v Moreland City
3:00 pm, Saturday 24 June, Elcho Park
North Geelong enjoyed their first win of the season against Hume City last week and Moreland City succumbed to the Avengers.
This clash will prove crucial for both sides in the relegation battle with a potential win for Moreland moving them five points clear of the bottom two.
Moreland has won only one of their last 12 matches and has conceded on average three goals per game (the equal worst in the competition), but will be confident of a result this week.
North Geelong's Lochlann McGrath scored a brace in last week's big win over Hume and will be Moreland's main concern up front along with youngster Luke Zivcic who also found the back of the net in recent weeks.
Moreland defenders Nick Bavcar and Michael Tzoutzidis helped keep a clean sheet against the Warriors earlier in the season and will get the job of restricting the in-form forwards.
Nikola Jurkovic was North Geelong's best last week in defence and will play a pivotal role in keeping his side in the match alongside Anthony Banovac and Charlie Fleming.
Aden Gardner had a great game in midfield with Marvin Brauweiller, but Moreland may prove too strong with Apai Ukuno, James Hooper, Corey Thomas, and Jamie Latham all capable of getting on the score sheet.
Moreland comfortably defeated North Geelong 4-1 in Round 6 with Apai Ukuno scoring a brace.
North Geelong won only its second game in 17 matches last week, can they continue their run or will Moreland further distance themselves from the relation battle?
Bentleigh Greens v Heidelberg United
3:00 pm, Saturday 24 June, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
The Greens drew with the Thunder last week and Heidelberg's Round 18 fixture was rescheduled to August 16 due to works at Olympic Village.
After a slow start to the season, Heidelberg has won two of its past three matches and will look to inch closer to the top six as we reach the last two months of the season.
Bentleigh defenders Lucas Derrick and Ben Carrigan will have their hands full with 2022 NPLM Gold Medalist Kaine Sheppard playing up front with Kenny Athiu, while Anthony Theodoropoulos and Balil Habib will be another scoring option for the Bergers.
Heidelberg's Shunsuke Murakami and Deion Nikolaidis will look to contain sticker Tom Strickland who scored his side's only goal against the Thunder last week. Chris Theodorakopoulos has been Bentleigh's best this year with six goals and will play on the wing opposite Alec Mills.
Heidelberg may be able to gain ascendancy through the midfield with Anthony Lesiotis, Adrian Zahra, Josh Pinn and Dom Falla coming up against Scott Hilliar, Daniel Lucente and Stefan Brecevic.
Can Bentleigh escape the bottom two or will Heidelberg keep their finals hopes alive?
Heidelberg defeated Bentleigh 3-1 earlier this year, while the Greens won 1-0 the last time they faced off at Kingston Heath.
Port Melbourne v Dandenong Thunder
5:30 pm, Saturday 24 June, JL Murphy Reserve
Dandenong came away with a point against Bentleigh in Round 17 and Port Melbourne claimed a big win against the Knights last Friday night.
The Thunder have fallen out of the top six after going winless in their past three matches, while Port Melbourne hasn't given up on its top-four hopes after their upset win last week.
Port Melbourne clinched a crucial three points against the Knights courtesy of Chris Duggan, who scored his eighth goal for the season off the bench. Dandenong full-backs Harry Ascroft and Michael Boffey will also need to do their homework on Dor Jok (6 goals) as the striker has been just as prolific this season, scoring a hat-trick only a fortnight ago.
Dandenong's Grad Damen (5 goals in 7 matches) found the back of the net once again last week and will be a handful for Port Melbourne defenders Jalil Regague and Kristian Bombaci along with Kasper Hallam (3 goals) who missed last week's draw.
Port Melbourne's Ross Archibald will likely come up against Leo Mazis (Dandenong) who is capable of anything down the wing, while Geoffry Lino will also feature up front for the Thunder.
If the Sharks are going to win away from home for the second straight week they will need to control possession through midfield. Dan Edwards has been one of Port's best, with the second most passes into the box of any player in the league, while Luca Tevere (5 goals, 4 assists) is always dangerous when given a chance along with Valil Cesnik (5 goals, 2 assists)
Port Melbourne relishes playing away from home, winning three of their last four matches away from SS
Anderson Reserve kept a clean sheet in each of those three wins.
Port Melbourne defeated the Thunder 6-2 at the beginning of the season with Valli Cesnik scoring four goals.
Can the Sharks continue to knock down the door of the top four, or can Dandenong return to the top six?
Altona Magic v Melbourne Knights
6:15 pm, Saturday 24 June, Paisley Park
Altona fell to Green Gully in a high-scoring affair last week and the Knights were left searching for answers after losing to the Sharks.
Following their upset loss at home last week, the Knights will be desperate to regain some form and cement their spot within the top four.
The Knights spread the load in their forward half with Gian Albano, Mohammed Sumaoro, and Ciaran Bramwell all with six goals for the season.
Altona's Thomas Woerndl will get a chance to atone for his own goal last week, coming up against Knights' frontman Ciaran Bramwell who has accrued the highest expected goals figure of any player in the league, but has only six goals to show for it.
On the other end of the pitch, it will be a tough battle with Knights' Josh Phelps and Ivan Franjic hoping to contain Altona's Golden Boot leader Jonas Markovski (13 goals) and Tommy Semmy (7 goals), who is hard to stop when he makes a run into the box.
Ashton Ahluwalia has been solid for the Magic this season through the midfield and along with Cian Cuba will create an interesting matchup for Melbourne's Steve Whyte and Anthony Duzel.
When the two sides met in Round 6, the Knights defeated Altona 3-1 at Knights Stadium.
Can the Knights recover from their loss last week or will Altona stay in touch with the top six?
Hume City v Oakleigh Cannons
6:30 pm, Saturday 24 June, Hume City Stadium
Oakleigh defeated St Albans last week, while Hume City suffered a shock defeat against North Geelong.
Hume City will be determined to give a better showing this week after losing to the bottom-placed Warriors. After Josh Bingham opened the scoring, the home side looked on their way to victory but after two defensive mistakes later, they found themselves searching for answers.
After finding the back of the net in Round 17, Joe Guest may play up front again with Alex Salmon, a tough challenge for Hume full-backs Harry Monaghan, Tomas Maricic, and Umut Bozdugan; who all received yellow cards last week after being found out of position. Oakleigh will be without the speedy Chris Lucas, but Wade Dekker may be implemented to expose Hume's lack of pace in defence.
Brodie Boyce will look to lock down Josh Bingham who scored his fifth goal for the season against the Warriors - drawing him level with Jewad Rezai who will pose an interesting matchup for Connor Hampson.
Mark Ochieng continues to toil away in the midfield for Hume, providing his second assist for the season, while Ben Bowler and Matthew Lazarides will be out to make a statement this week against the seasoned Oakleigh engine room. Stefan Valentini and Cam McGilp missed last week's clash but if they return and accompany Oliver Kubilay and possibly Joe Guest, the Cannons will prove a tall task for the home side.
The Cannons defeated Hume 2-1 when they faced off in Round 6, Alex Fiechtner proved the difference with two goals for the match.
Can Hume win their first game in a month or will Oakleigh continue on its merry way?