Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat says injuries to Besart Berisha and Matthieu Delpierre will keep them out of Monday night’s Round 4 match with Wellington, but a big name will return.
Archie Thompson, who was a late withdrawal from Wednesday night’s FFA Cup Quarter Final is expected to return to the starting XI for the traditional Cup Eve encounter.
Press play on the video above to hear what Muscat had to say after Sunday’s training session.
Muscat said the injuries to Berisha and Delpierre were not as bad as first thought, with the duo only set for a short stint on the sidelines.
“Matthieu and Bes have both got strains, so obviously precautions are in place and we’ll look after them, they need some more time to recover,” Muscat said.
“We’ve certainly got enough players and enough quality to cover for the boys that are not available. We’ll have a strong side out there.
“There will be one or two not playing in their favoured position – Broxie (Leigh Broxham) and Millsy (Mark Milligan) can play as central defenders, we’ve got two natural fullbacks in the players who are available, we’ve got two natural midfielders in there, we’re comfortable.”
Asked if this match would test Victory’s depth, Muscat said he was confident the side put on the pitch on Monday night will do the job in front of a big home crowd.
“Every game is a test. It was a test on day one when we played Western Sydney and it was a test in the derby. Everything’s a test and everything’s a challenge.
“It will be a good game, an entertaining game. It’s become a tradition for us to play on Cup Eve and there will be another good crowd at AAMI Park. We won’t take a backward step, we’ll get after them nice and early and like I said, we’ve got a good team out there to take three points tomorrow night.”
Got your tix for our Cup Eve clash? Secure your seat now and be at AAMI Park on Monday night!
