W-League preview: Victory v Sydney

​Melbourne Victory is out to bounce back when it hosts Sydney FC in the Westfield W-League at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.

Jeff Hopkins’ team went down to Newcastle Jets 4-0 in Round 2, having opened the season with a gutsy draw in Adelaide.

Natasha Dowie was unfortunate not to add to her opening-round brace, but remains equal top of the scoring charts with two.

Victory, which sits seventh on the table, gets a chance to respond with a meeting against the fifth-placed Sky Blues.

Hopkins is keen to see his team show what it is capable of against Sydney.

“Plain and simple, we’re looking for a real positive reaction from last week,” he said.

“I think we all know that the quality of the game, the quality of the effort, wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be.

“What I’m looking for from the players is a real reaction from them to show with their performance this week that last week was just a blip on the radar rather than a true reflection of what we’re all about as a football team.”

Sydney has made a mixed start to the season, losing to Brisbane Roar before claiming a Derby win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

Victory members receive free entry to all Westfield W-League home games this season. For non-members, tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for concession, with kids under 16 free.

Westfield W-League 2016/17 Round 3

Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
Sunday, November 20, 4.00pm AEDT
Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne

Melbourne Victory squad (two to be omitted): 1.Bianca HENNINGER (gk), 2.Alexandra NATOLI, 3.Alex CHEAL, 6.Annabel MARTIN, 7.Lia PRIVITELLI, 8.Ayesha NORRIE, 9.Natasha DOWIE, 10.Christine NAIRN (c), 11.MelindaJ BARBIERI, 13.Laura SPIRANOVIC, 15.Adriana TARANTO, 16.Samantha JOHNSON, 17.Gulcan KOCA, 19.Rachel ALONSO, 20.Bethany MASON-JONES (gk), 22.Caitlin FRIEND, 25.Kariah WHITE

Ins: 22.Caitlin FRIEND (promoted), 25.Kariah WHITE (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 4.Melissa TARANTO (knee – season), 14.Selin KURALAY (hamstring – 1-2 weeks)