Kevin Muscat Confident of Opening Day Win over Melbourne City

The A-League kicks off for another campaign this weekend and Melbourne Victory will be going into the new campaign with a blockbuster clash against local rivals Melbourne City at home. After having just won the fourth title a few months ago, Melbourne Victory will be quietly confident about enjoying more success against their local rivals but past performances may not count much in this fierce derby. Manager Kevin Muscat has revealed that his team have undergone sufficient preparation and trust in order to prepare themselves for this opening round of the campaign.

This mouth-watering tie has the potential to set up a momentum straightaway. Victory were able to win the Grand Final last season after wins over the likes of Adelaide United, Sydney FC, and Newcastle Jets in the final rounds of the play-offs. They did not come up against Melbourne City, who were eliminated by Newcastle, in this period. Even though Victory finished a couple of points behind City in the regular campaign, they were able to come up with a spring in the step in the play-offs. The recent matches between these two teams have gone in favour of Melbourne Victory, who have claimed a four out of the recent five meetings as victories.

Despite having seen substantial changes to the squad during the off-season, Kevin Muscat still remains confident that his players will be able to make a substantial impact in the opening game.Victory have been quite active in the transfer market by bringing in the likes of Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen, and Raul Baena. Nick Ansell, who is no stranger to Melbourne Victory, is also back at the club after a time in the European football. “That game on Friday was the first opportunity we got to have them all out there together and I thought there were some really positive signs,” said Kevin Muscat.