Melbourne Victory vs South Melbourne Prediction & Betting Tips

How have both sides been playing?

Melbourne Victory's last five in this competition read draw, win, win, draw, win, so they haven't lost in that spell. Across their wider 20-match sample they've won nine, drawn seven and lost four, scoring 38 and conceding 20, which points to a side that's solid without being flawless.

Melbourne Victory: 20 completed matches; South Melbourne: 20 completed matches.

Melbourne Victory

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

20% 4 / 20

Scored

38

Conceded

20

Difference

+18

South Melbourne

20 matches

Win

50% 10 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

34

Conceded

26

Difference

+8

South Melbourne have been streakier. Their last five matches went win, loss, win, loss, win, a pattern of bouncing back rather than building any real momentum. Over their last 20 games they've won ten, drawn three and lost seven, with 34 scored against 26 conceded, so there's goals in most of their matches either way.

Victory's recent cup form looks the steadier of the two, but South Melbourne have shown they can win these ties too.

Comparative Team Statistics: Melbourne Victory vs South Melbourne

Any team news worth flagging?

There isn't much individual detail to go on here. The one player note we have is J. Davidson at Melbourne Victory, who's picked up an assist and a yellow card across his last two appearances. That's too small a sample to draw much from, and it doesn't tell us anything about his likely involvement in this particular tie.

Melbourne Victory:

Best assist providers:

J. Davidson - 1

Penalty cards:

J. Davidson x 1

A cup tie between two levels

Victory's recent matches have come in the A-League and continental football, while South Melbourne's have mostly come in the Victoria NPL alongside their own Australia Cup run. Cup football like this can throw up games that don't follow the usual level gap, and South Melbourne have already shown in this competition that they can win away from home, beating Preston Lions 2-1 on the road last month.

That doesn't make them favourites, but it does mean Victory can't assume anything just because they play a level higher week to week.