• Updates from the title decider at AAMI Park
  • Kick-off time in Melbourne is 7.40pm AEST
  • Any thoughts? Get in touch with an email

For City, Mat Leckie is fit to start so Ale Lopane moves to the bench. Lawrence Wong is among the subs after missing last week with a wrist injury.
For Victory, Nishan Velupillay has not proven his fitness, but Kasey Bos does make the starting XI. Mitch Langerak is on the bench and a potential matchwinner if the game goes to penalties.
Australian football has been here many times before, with visions of a grand spectacle that might reignite the passion of casual observers. The Mariners? back-to-back championship triumphs will live long in the memory but so too does the last time Victory and City met under the glare of the spotlight in the wake of the Socceroos? stirring 2022 World Cup campaign. With fans railing against the APL?s decision to break with tradition and hold three grand finals in Sydney ? a deal that would have concluded with this year?s decider ? the Melbourne derby descended into humiliating chaos when spectators invaded the pitch and forced the match to be abandoned for player safety reasons.
This time, with no new clouds hanging over the competition and the grand final being given clear air in Melbourne, the focus can turn to matters on the pitch and a tussle between two evenly matched teams playing for more than just championship glory.
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