Melbourne Victory vs. Melbourne City – A-League, June 6, 2021

In their final match of the season, Melbourne Victory will be hoping to avoid another humiliating thrashing when they face off against rivals Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Sunday, June 6.

Victory suffered a 6-0 crushing in the first Melbourne Derby in March before going down 7-0 in April’s meeting. Can Steve Kean’s side steer clear of another embarrassment this time around?

If you’re betting on the Melbourne Derby, I suggest you keep reading. After looking at the A-League odds and analyzing the teams, I share my Melbourne Victory vs. Melbourne City prediction and pick.

In all honesty, I expected the odds gap to be bigger here. Granted, Victory (4.40) picked up a much-improved win last weekend – hammering Western United 6-1. But let’s not forget how bad they have been across the campaign.

By contrast, City (1.71) has been nothing short of immense throughout 2021. The newly-crowned premiers had their ten-game unbeaten streak ended last time out, yet they still hold a whopping 30-point lead over their bitter rivals.

Following a run of five straight losses, Victory returned to winning ways in style last weekend. An Elvis Kamsoba double, along with goals from Jake Brimmer, Rudy Gestede, Ben Folami, and Jacob Butterfield, saw Kean’s men annihilate Western.

Of course, Western has finished the season in terrible form. But the Boys in Blue won’t care about that, as they have only managed to register five wins this term.

Last weekend’s performance would have pleased Tony Popovic, who will take over the team at the end of the campaign. The incoming head coach has a lot of work to do, but he has plenty of good players at his disposal.

It is no secret that Victory must improve their defense if they want to compete with the A-League’s top teams next year. Indeed, they have conceded 59 goals in 25 games (2.36 goals per game) – giving them the worst defensive record in the league by a considerable margin.

Unfortunately, 13 of those goals were scored by City.

It is difficult to believe that Patrick Kisnorbo’s men have only lost two of their previous 18 matches. In fact, it is even more difficult to believe that they have picked up 13 wins in that time (three draws).

City’s unstoppable charge to secure their first-ever Premiers’ Plate has been a joy to watch. Okay, maybe not for all the other teams in the A-League. But when you look at what City has achieved over the past few months, you can’t help but heap praise on them.

However, the premiers will be without star striker Jamie Maclaren, who is away on Socceroos duty.

Having bagged a phenomenal 25 goals and five assists in 24 A-League games this season, including six goals and two assists in two matches against Victory, Maclaren will be missed.

Still, City has more than enough quality to cap off the regular season with another big Melbourne Derby win. Guys like Craig Noone (six goals, eight assists) and Conor Metcalfe (five goals, three assists) have consistently chipped in this year, so they shouldn’t struggle to create chances.

Considering the aggregate score between the teams this season sits at 13-0 in favor of City; I think the price for the City win is actually pretty generous here. Kisnorbo’s men may have suffered a minor slip-up last time out. But let’s face it – Victory’s entire season has been one big slip-up!

Without Maclaren, we probably won’t see another 7-0. But when you consider the damage that City has already inflicted on Victory this year, anything other than a comfortable City win would be a massive shock on Sunday.