South officials are tipping a crowd of 5,000-plus, but with free admission, this encounter may even exceed those crowd expectations.

“We anticipate over 5,000. It depends on the weather, though. I think it’ll be half and half Victory and South fans. Many fans are intrigued by this fixture as some of our fans also support Victory and some only South after we left the NSL,” South official Jim Marinos tells au.fourfourtwo.com.

“The surface is in magnificent condition and the gist of it all is that it’s the current A-League champions versus the reigning FFV champions.”

South were for many years one of Australia’s most successful NSL clubs until the league was disbanded in 2004 in favour of the A-League with Victory becoming the state's flagship franchise.

Since then, Victory has taken over the mantle as the biggest club in the country while South has been playing in Victoria’s state-based premier league (now called the Foxtel Cup). It looms as a passionate local derby.

It will also be the final game for Victory’s Asian Cup bound striker Archie Thompson, who leaves for Singapore on Thursday to join the Socceroo training camp in Singapore.

Kick off is 7pm and it’s free admission. Gates open at 5pm. Should be a cracker.