The game will be the third and final match of their pre-season series and Victory are expected to field their strongest available team in Shepparton as they count down to the Docklands Stadium blockbuster against Fulham.

Local and travelling fans from Melbourne are expected to push the ground record at Deakin Reserve with an anticipated crowd of up to 10,000 fans. The match will kick off at 2pm, ticket prices are still to be set.

The local league hopes to arrange a curtain raiser featuring two of its men's division one clubs drawn from teams in Shepparton and surrounding centres including Tatura, Kyabram, Cobram and Benalla.

The last time an Australian national league club played in Shepparton was Heidelberg's NSL match against Marconi at Deakin Reserve in August, 1987.

Shepparton, about two hours drive north east of Melbourne, is the home town of 1996 Olympian and seven-time capped Socceroo Robert Enes.

Wellington Phoenix player Vince Lia is the only current Shepparton-bred player currently in the A-League, but  other prominent locals include Melbourne Knights midfielder Frankie Lagana and Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder Christian Georgopoulos.

Deakin Reserve hosts the Goulburn Valley Football League (AFL) grand final each year to a crowd of 8000 plus, while the unofficial ground attendance record was estimated at around 10,000 for an AFL regional challenge match between Collingwood and Hawthorn in March of last year.