Following a gruelling trip back from Asian Cup duty with the Qantas Socceroos, Thompson has been ruled out of the clash, leaving the door open for Patafta to make his mark in the forward line along side Danny Allsopp.

Costa Rican recruit Carlos Hernandez is also likely to start for Victory for the first time after coming off the bench last week against Newcastle in Geelong. Grant Brebner, missing so far this pre-season with a groin complaint, is expected to see game time off the bench.

Meanwhile Perth Glory coach Ron Smith has made three changes to his team.

Into the squad come midfielders Leo Bertos and David Micevski who have both recovered from injury while new signing Mate Dragicevic is set to make his Perth Glory debut.

Bertos has missed the club’s first two pre-season cup matches with a groin strain and was close to returning last weekend but was given an extra week to ensure he has overcome the injury sustained during the club’s tour of Malaysia.

Micevski returns after a week on the sidelines after receiving a kick to the knee in the Glory’s 1-nil victory against Newcastle in the opening round of the pre-season cup.

The club’s attacking options have been boosted by the inclusion of Dragicevic who has spent the week training with his new team mates after arriving from Croatia. The big striker is a threat in the air and with the ball at his feet and will be looking to cause some havoc in Melbourne’s defence.

Coming out of the side is injured pair Nick Rizzo and Hayden Foxe, both of whom are expected to be out for only a week. Midfielder Mitchell Prentice will also miss the Darwin match because of sudden family commitments.

Both sides will officially launch Darwin’s new football stadium, Larrakia Park, in the game which kicks off at 6.30pm local time (7pm AEST).