Bentleigh Greens are the last team standing without a loss, but with every game that passes, the Greens become a bigger scalp to claim, and Dandenong Thunder will be aiming to be ones.
Bentleigh Greens v Dandenong Thunder
8.15pm, Friday, May 29, 2015
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, Cheltenham
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BGvDT #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
North Geelong Warriors 0 - 1 Bentleigh Greens
Dandenong Thunder 2 - 2 Werribee City
Form:
BG: WWWWW
DT: LDLLD
Last time they met:
Dandenong Thunder 1 - 2 Bentleigh Greens
Keeping John Anastasiadis' unbeaten record alive this season will have been made much harder after the loss of Matt Thurtell, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament last week.
But despite the loss of Thurtell, Bentleigh has been boosted by the signing of club stalwart Ryan De Vries, fresh from winning the OFC Champions League, the New Zealand domestic league, and a third-place finish at the FIFA Club World Cup with Auckland City. Along with the winger, Bentleigh has also picked up Ryan Love and Luke O'Dea to boost their stocks, and consolidate on the losses of Tom Matthews, David Cardamone, and Kobbie Boahene.
Meanwhile Dandenong Thunder has looked threatening at times this season, but its youngsters have been plagued with one problem: inconsistency. To combat this, coach Stuart Munro hasn't opted for experience; he's opted for more youth. It's a gamble, but it's a gamble that could turn Dandenong Thunder into one of the most exciting attacking sides in the NPL.
Pascoe Vale v Port Melbourne
8.30pm, Friday, May 29, 2015
CB Smith Reserve, Fawkner
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PVvPM #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Pascoe Vale 1 - 2 Heidelberg United
Port Melbourne 1 - 2 Hume City
Form:
PV: LWLWL
PM: LDWDL
Last time they met:
Port Melbourne 2 - 0 Pascoe Vale
It was a massive last day of the transfer window for Eric Vassiliadis and his Port Melbourne side, bringing in former South Melbourne defender Bryan Bran, and luring former wunderkid Adrian Zahra across the Bolte from Melbourne Knights. The two new faces complement a side that's already been boosted in the window, but it is yet to come together for the Sharks.
Vassiliadis will be hoping Zahra can come in and link up well with fellow winger Kamal Ibrahim, and the two can wreak havoc down the flanks at CB Smith.
On the other hand, Pascoe Vale had a very quiet transfer window, with coach Vitale Ferrante opting to largely keep his side as is. The only change he made was swapping goalkeeper Stefaan Sardelic for Dennys Martin. Ferrante will be hoping to string some wins together, having not notched a streak together in almost two months. They'll be desperate to get one over on Port, who comfortably defeated Pascoe Vale last time around.
Oakleigh Cannons v Green Gully
8.30pm, Friday, May 29, 2015
Jack Edwards Reserve, Oakleigh
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #OCvGG #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Oakleigh Cannons 2 - 0 South Melbourne
Northcote City 3 - 1 Green Gully
Form:
OC: WWLLW
GG: LLLWL
Last time they met:
Green Gully 1 - 0 Oakleigh Cannons
Oakleigh shocked the PlayStation 4 NPL in the second week of the transfer window, bringing in former Brisbane Roar winger Kofi Danning, former Melbourne Victory full-back Matthew Foschini, and former Newcastle Jets striker Sean Rooney.
But Arthur Papas won't have all his new faces available just yet, with only Matthew Foschini cleared to play so far. If anything, this should drive Oakleigh's current starters to impress so they can keep their spots when Danning and Rooney are cleared to play.
The Cannons will also be buoyed by the return of Ben Clarke, who missed last week with suspension. Clarke's suspension makes last week's comfortable 2-0 win against South Melbourne all the more impressive, but they'll need to be on song to back it up against a Green Gully side that has potential.
Gully will be hoping the form it showed against Avondale two weeks ago isn't temporary, especially after last week's 3-1 loss to Northcote. New signing Simon Tolli will be available, while Evan Christodoulou will have a point to prove after moving across town in the first week of the window from Oakleigh.
South Melbourne v North Geelong Warriors
8.30pm, Friday, May 29, 2015
Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvNGW #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Oakleigh Cannons 2 - 0 South Melbourne
North Geelong Warriors 0 - 1 Bentleigh Greens
Form:
SM: DWWWL
NGW: LDDLL
Last time they met:
North Geelong Warriors 0 - 3 South Melbourne
No Milos Lujic, no Michael Eagar, no Dane Milovanovic. Three key personnel, all missing. Lujic and Eagar are suspended, while Milovanovic sustained a long-term injury in last week's loss to Oakleigh. To compound matters, Lachlan Jackson has not yet arrived from Brisbane Roar, while Andy Bevin won't be ready yet either.
But what's incredible is that even though they're missing the aforementioned names, Taylor still has more than a few solid names to call upon. The existing troops will be complemented by youngsters Chris Irwin and Tom Lakic, while David Stirton could make a return from injury.
While Chris Taylor may think he'll have an easy task ahead of him in North Geelong, the Warriors do have a propensity to shock. North Geelong has only picked up two points in its last five games, but if Micky Colina is to steer the ship away from relegation, he'll need to seize chances like this.
But after a quiet transfer window, Colina will need new signings Yusuf Yusuf, Ridvan Saglam, and Gareth Richards to desperately fill the gap left by former star striker Robbie Zadworny. If it does click for the Warriors, South could see itself in trouble for the second week in a row.
Avondale FC v Hume City
3.00pm, Saturday, May 30, 2015
Avondale Heights Reserve, Avondale Heights
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #AFCvHC #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Avondale FC 0 - 0 Melbourne Knights
Port Melbourne 1 - 2 Hume City
Form:
AFC: DLLLD
HC: WDDLW
Last time they met:
Hume City 2 - 0 Avondale FC
Two sides looking to stake their claim for finals football face off on Saturday afternoon. Avondale made two massive signings in the second week of the transfer window with former Melbourne City midfielder Massimo Murdocca and former Melbourne Victory striker Francesco Stella joining, but there's one problem: it's likely neither will be available against Hume City.
Murdocca won't be available until a month after his last game for Melbourne City, which will be June 8, while Stella is waiting on an international transfer clearance from Thailand. If that does come through on Friday, Stella may make his debut alongside Aleksiy Khrapko, which will be a formidable pairing for any defence.
Hume City also bolstered its strike force over the window, and after a goalless first week, it found goals against Port Melbourne last week. Louie Acevski will be hoping that form continues, once and for all solving the goal woes his side had in the first half of the season. If they can continue to fire, Hume will be playing finals football.
Northcote City v Melbourne Knights
3.00pm, Saturday, May 30, 2015
John Cain Memorial Park, Northcote
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #NCvMK #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Northcote City 3 - 1 Green Gully
Avondale FC 0 - 0 Melbourne Knights
Form:
NC: LWLLW
MK: LDWDD
Last time they met:
Melbourne Knights 2 - 0 Northcote City
Andrew Marth lost five men in the transfer window, but only brought in one. Is it arrogance, or is it the sign of a coach that has total trust in his players and what they can achieve? With the quality in the Knights' squad, it's likely the latter.
A strike force of Andrew Barisic, Stipo Andrijasevic, Robbie Zadworny et al should have defences trembling. While they have struggled to find goals recently, with the quality in the squad, the drought will end and it will pour.
Northcote striker and new signing Calvin Mbarga broke his drought recently. The Cameroonian U20 international joined Hume from NPL South Australia, where he scored 20 goals for Adelaide Blue Eagles. They were a lot harder to come by at Hume, with Mbarga remaining goalless during his entire stint at the club.
But one game at Northcote, and the drought has broken. If that's a sign of things to come, and Northcote can feed him, the Knights' defence could have a long afternoon at John Cain.
Heidelberg United v Werribee City
4.00pm, Sunday, May 31, 2015
Olympic Village, Heidelberg West
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HUvWC #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Pascoe Vale 1 - 2 Heidelberg United
Dandenong Thunder 2 - 2 Werribee City
Form:
HU: WDDWW
WC: DLWWD
Last time they met:
Werribee City 0 - 1 Heidelberg United
George Katsakis must be confident in his squad. After losing four players - most notably Jakob Williams - he picked up the phone and called stalwart Mark McGough, as well as bringing in Jason Koutsodontis from Zagame's State League One, and Mitchell Walsh from a fellow NPL U20s side.
His boys have done the job so far this season, sitting top of the table by goal difference, and leading the goalscoring charts. But on Sunday, they host a resurgent Werribee City that bolstered its strike force considerably over the transfer window.
Werribee has now almost gone a month without a loss, lifting itself out of the automatic drop zone. The Bees are still two points away from safety, and come into a tough run that will see them take on the top three in successive weeks. A point in this game will go a long way to helping them out come August.
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