Victory meet old foe Sydney FC in Saturday’s semi-final clash after a thrilling 2-1 win over Adelaide United on Sunday night.

The Big V’s depth has been questioned for the second half of the season after the departure of Mark Milligan and Jason Geria.

With the addition of Antonis to the squad, Valeri was full of praise for the 24-year-old.

“Terry’s a fantastic player and maybe I’m biased, I think he’s the best six in the league,” Valeri said.

“The best defensive midfielder, if not one of the best. The good thing about Terry is he’s young, he works hard and he’s very professional, so he’s got a lot going for him.

“I’m genuinely excited to see what Terry can do in his career. Focusing on the now, he’s showing what he’s capable of in the finals and he’s getting stronger every game, so I’m sure he’ll be super-prepared for the game in Sydney.”

Valeri was also full of praise for Besart Berisha, who scored a bicycle-kick in the dying minutes to seal an elimination-final win over the Reds.

The skipper has always defended Berisha when he's come under the microscope and the Kosovan has certainly been scrutinised this season.

The former Socceroo said it was easy for football fans to forget about his achievements.

“It’s funny, in football, once you’ve been around for a long time, people start to forget what you’ve done and that’s fine,” he said.

“He understands that and the great thing about him is he just gets on with the job and works hard for the team. Tonight he scored and I thought it was an unbelievable goal that sums his character up.

“He’s a fantastic person above all, he’s a fantastic man, friend and he’s a great footballer. He proves that every season. He turns up for the big games, he scores his goals.

“Although he hasn’t scored as many, he’s still scored one every two games which is a good record. The thing I love about Bes, he’s a fighter.

“You look at any great striker in their career, they’ve consistently scored goals and I think Bes has done that in the A-League.

“Football fans can say what they want and it’s everyone’s opinion, but at the end of the day Bes is turning up week in, week out and doing his job for the team which is important.”