Head-to-head
Played: 19. Wins: Melbourne Victory 6, Sydney 4, Draws: 9

Previous Meeting
Sydney FC 3, Melbourne Victory 3, SFS, August 2010

History
These two teams have arguably the greatest rivalry in the competition, especially after the events of last season where Sydney edged Victory for the Premier's Plate, lost the right to host the final and then won a dramatic Grand Final on penalties. That alone would be enough to add some extra spice into this one. But when you look back at history, these clashes are full of contentious moments and controversies.

Past five matches:
Melbourne Victory: LDDDW
Sydney FC: LDDLL

Match Committee
Melbourne will have at least one change with Surat Sukha ruled out with a back strain. Diogo Ferreira is a chance to come straight into the team having been included along with Peter Franjic and Marvin Angulo. Mate Dugandzic is pushing for a starting spot having overcome groin soreness while Grant Brebner is set to make his first start since breaking his toes alongside Billy Celeski in the middle of the park, with Leigh Broxham the man most likely to make way.

Sydney get back Nicky Carle after several weeks out with a toe injury in a big boost for the currently winless champions. Matthew Jurman has the flu and has been ruled out, while Antony Golec is out of the squad. Kofi Danning, Terry Antonis, Rhyan Grant and Dimitri Petratos are all still on international duty.

Danger men
Billy Celeski - Having had several matches under his belt since returning from a knee injury, Celeski is starting to approach his best form. He is a crucial creative presence in the midfield for Victory and his strong form will be important to his side making a charge up the table in the middle third of the season.

Nicky Carle - The marquee man has only played five games for his new club and has been missing since the first week of September. In his absence, they have lost two and drawn two matches. They are in desperate need of a spark and the fringe Socceroo can provide this.

At the end of the day….
This shaped as a top-of-the-table blockbuster when the draw was done, but it is now a must win match for both last year's Grand Finalists. Sydney find themselves in a hapless position after a disastrous opening to the season and Vitezslav Lavicka admits he is feeling the pressure after garnering just four points so far this season.

He took them away for a couple of days this week in a bid to get their mind back on the job and hopefully for Sky Blues fans, this will prove a key moment in their season. Having Nick Carle to provide some venom and direction in the midfield will help greatly.

Victory's performance in the derby against Heart was close to their worst of the season and their lack of pace up front was there for all to see. Carlos Hernandez needs to try and get the ball facing the goal for once and bring the likes of Robbie Kruse and Ricardinho into the game. Having a fit Grant Brebner and Billy Celeski in the middle of the park will help get the Costa Rican more involved.

Heart ripped Melbourne apart down the wings and Sydney will be looking for similar joy, especially with Sukha sidelined. Victory need to tighten up in that department and create more room in the middle of the park. It will be a high-intensity game with a high likelihood of a draw.

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Michael PETKOVIC (gk), 2. Kevin MUSCAT (c), 3. Mate DUGANDZIC, 4. Petar FRANJIC, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.RICARDINHO, 11.Marvin ANGULO, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13. Diogo FERREIRA, 14. Billy CELESKI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 19. Evan BERGER, 20.Sebastian MATTEI (gk), 21. Robbie KRUSE 23. Adrian LEIJER, 27. Geoff KELLAWAY
*three to be omitted*

In: Petar FRANJIC (promoted), Diogo FERREIRA (promoted), Marvin ANGULO (promoted)
Out: Surat SUKHA (back – 1 week)
Unavailable: Archie THOMPSON (knee – indefinite), Matthew KEMP (knee – indefinite)

Sydney FC squad: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL, 3. Stephan KELLER, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 9. Bruno CAZARINE, 10. Nicky CARLE,12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (c), 19. Mark BRIDGE, 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 21. Scott JAMIESON, 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN
*one to be omitted*

In: Nicky CARLE (returns from injury)
Out: Matt JURMAN (flu), Antony GOLEC (not selected)
Unavailable: Kofi DANNING (national team duty), Terry ANTONIS (national team duty)