This is arguably the biggest game the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria has seen in its two-year history. It's Bentleigh v Heidelberg - 1 v 2 on the ladder on a Friday night at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
Port Melbourne v Avondale FC
8.15pm, Friday, June 19, 2015
JL Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PMvAFC#PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Heidelberg United 2 - 1 Port Melbourne
Avondale FC 0 - 0 Pascoe Vale
Form:
PM: WDLLL
AFC: LLDDD
Last time they met:
Avondale FC 0 - 0 Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne showed a lot of promise in the first half of the season. The Sharks were sitting pretty in fifth place after Round 13, but as the transfer window slammed shut and Port brought in a few fresh faces, Eric Vassiliadis' boys struggled to gel.
They come into this match with three losses on the trot and in its lowest position of the ladder so far this season.
Meanwhile Avondale - another team with a busy transfer window - hasn't had a win in the last five weeks. But things are improving slowly for Anthony Barbieri's men.
They're also without a loss in three weeks, and given new signings Massimo Murdocca and Francesco Stella have now had time to gel with the rest of the squad, the two could make a real difference tonight.
Bentleigh Greens v Heidelberg United
8.15pm, Friday, June 19, 2015
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, Cheltenham
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BGvHU #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Werribee City 1 - 3 Bentleigh Greens
Heidelberg United 2 - 1 Port Melbourne
Form:
BG: WWWDW
HU: DWWWW
Last time they met:
Heidelberg United 1 - 3 Bentleigh Greens
Both teams come into this game in immaculate form - undefeated in the last month, and picking up 13 points from a possible 15 in their last five games. But both sides are about to hit a tough run; next week Bentleigh takes on South Melbourne, while Heidelberg will play Avondale next week, before taking on South Melbourne on July 3.
If Bentleigh wins here, it could open up a four-point buffer from Heidelberg, and depending on the result against South Melbourne, potentially be four-points clear of both sides by next weekend.
Ryan Love made his starting debut last weekend against Werribee City in fullback, but the Queenslander will have a much tougher task against a strike force of Daniel Heffernan and Kaine Sheppard. Both teams have an incredible record of 33 goals and 10 against, so an open and attacking game could be on the cards tonight.
Green Gully v Dandenong Thunder
3.00pm, Saturday, June 20, 2015
Green Gully Reserve, Green Gully
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GGvDT #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
North Geelong Warriors 1 - 0 Green Gully
Dandenong Thunder 0 - 1 South Melbourne
Form:
GG: LWLLL
DT: LLDLL
Last time they met:
Green Gully 5 - 2 Dandenong Thunder
Dandenong Thunder pushed South Melbourne to the brink last week. Stuart Munro's youngsters were hardly disgraced in their 0-1 loss to South, but they had plenty of opportunities to take the points from the title-contenders.
If it were not for an inspired performance from South goalkeeper Fraser Maclaren, Dandenong could well have taken the points.
Meanwhile at Elcho Park, Green Gully fell to bottom side North Geelong Warriors. Those three points were invaluable for the Warriors, but it sets a very interesting scenario at the bottom of the table. North Geelong - while still bottom - is now just four points from safety.
Dandenong Thunder has fallen to 13th, but has looked promising over the last month, despite only picking up one point from their last five games. Meanwhile Green Gully is in free fall - spiralling down the table and now just three points from automatic relegation.
If Thunder gets the win here, it will jump to 12th spot, but will still be behind Gully on goal difference. The hosts will need youngsters Yusuf Ahmed and Jarod Blackbourn to fire for the rest of the season if they're to look at escaping.
Northcote City FC v Pascoe Vale
3.00pm, Saturday, June 20, 2015
John Cain Memorial Reserve, Thornbury
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #NCvPV #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Northcote City 3 - 1 Hume City
Avondale FC 0 - 0 Pascoe Vale
Form:
NC: LLWLW
PV: WLWDD
Last time they met:
Pascoe Vale 2 - 3 Northcote City
Every few weeks Northcote looks like it could kick on and compete for a finals place. But at the end of the day, the side's biggest problem is inconsistency.
Perhaps enough of the season has now gone by for Goran Lozanovski's side to have matured mentally, but either way, the hosts have a tough battle on their hands. Last time they played, there were five goals in the first half before a very quiet second stanza, but goals will be hard to come by if Pascoe Vale's last showing is anything to go by.
Paco has been in a rich vein of form itself, with a win over Hume, a win over Port Melbourne, and draws against Bentleigh and Avondale to its name over the last five weeks. Part of its resurgence can be put to goalkeeper Alex Pavlidis who has made the spot his own since taking over early in the season.
He helped immensely last week with the clean sheet, and was partly responsible for the draw against Bentleigh with a fingertip save that looked destined for the top corner. If Northcote is to finally find some consistency, it will need to have its scoring boots on.
Hume City v Oakleigh Cannons
7.00pm, Saturday, June 20, 2015
ABD Stadium, Valley Park, Broadmeadows
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HCvOC #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Northcote City 3 - 1 Hume City
Oakleigh Cannons 4 - 1 Melbourne Knights
Form:
DT: LWDDL
OC: LWWDW
Last time they met:
Oakleigh Cannons 1 - 1 Hume City
These two foes will be very familiar with each other having played each other just a few weeks ago after their original fixture was abandoned due to an injury. But the sides that are fielded this weekend might have something else on their minds; Oakleigh has just qualified for the FFA Cup after defeating South Springvale on Wednesday night, while Hume City takes on Kingston City on Wednesday.
Whether both coaches opt to rest players will be interesting, but nonetheless, this game remains important for both teams' positions in the league. Hume sits in fifth, but could drop out with a loss to Oakleigh, while Oakleigh sits in seventh and could overtake the hosts with a win.
Both sides could be playing finals football at the end of the season, but how much they value the league over the FFA Cup will be highlighted this weekend.
Melbourne Knights v North Geelong Warriors
3.00pm, Sunday, June 21, 2015
Knights Stadium, Sunshine North
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MKvNGW #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Oakleigh Cannons 4 - 1 Melbourne Knights
North Geelong Warriors 1 - 0 Green Gully
Form:
MK: WDDWL
NGW: DLLLW
Last time they met:
North Geelong Warriors 0 - 1 Melbourne Knights
The Croatian siblings meet for the second time this season, and there's a lot to play for this time around. North Geelong got its second win of the season last weekend after a 1-0 win over Green Gully at home. It needs another this week if it's to kickstart a resurgence and escape relegation.
But in the Warriors' way are the Knights, currently comfortably sitting in fourth spot. While a shot at the premiership is unlikely given they're already 11 points behind South Melbourne in third spot, the Knights' finals hopes are almost guaranteed.
Knights' custodian Chris May has been sidelined at training this week with a dislocated finger, and it's uncertain whether he will be able to play. But regardless of whether May will play or not, the Warriors must first focus on stopping a Knights strike force containing their favourite son in Robbie Zadworny, who moved to Melbourne in the transfer window.
The Knights will be bloodthirsty after last week's loss to the Cannons, but how much May's possible absence will motivate the Warriors could be telling.
South Melbourne v Werribee City
5.00pm, Sunday, June 21, 2015
Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvWC #PS4NPLVIC
Last round:
Dandenong Thunder 0 - 1 South Melbourne
Werribee City 1 - 3 Bentleigh Greens
Form:
SM: WWLWW
WC: WWDLL
Last time they met:
Werribee City 1 - 2 South Melbourne
Werribee is up against it on Sunday afternoon. But one thing the visitors might have in their favour is South Melbourne's potential fatigue.
The PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria 2015 champions have had a busy week, first defeating a plucky Dandenong Thunder side away from home 0-1, before being pushed for 70 minutes by a difficult Frankston Pines side in the FFA Cup qualifying round.
South got the result in the end, but it was a lot harder than the 6-1 scoreline suggested.
Meanwhile, last week Werribee didn't offer too much resistance to a strong Bentleigh Greens side who strolled to a 1-3 away win. If you look at the form guide, Werribee had a purple patch about a month ago, but they were playing against fellow relegation scrappers.
The next few weeks will be telling for Nino Ragusa if he is to escape relegation by being able to take points off the top teams like they were able to in the first half of the season.
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