Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory: Major Semi-Final Preview

Are you looking for the preview of the A-League Grand Final, to be played between the Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United on February 28, 2009?

And so it begins. The Queensland Roar got the ball rolling last night with an all-important 2-0 away-from-home win against the Central Coast Mariners (report). Attention now turns to tonight’s affair in Adelaide.

Melbourne have had the edge over Adelaide all year, with three wins from three. That may, as Kevin Muscat suggests, give us a mental edge as we go into the finals. Certainly, Adelaide have to get the monkey off their back. Memories of the 2006 finals series will undoubtedly add to their psychological disadvantage.

Two years ago, when Adelaide hosted Melbourne in the semi-finals, Merrick opted for a defensive approach and got a 0-0 draw. There’s some sense in that, of course, but I think, given our dominance over Adelaide this year, we need to go for the win. We’ve beaten them every time and there’s nothing to suggest we can’t do it again.

Melbourne have a full squad to pick from, with Evan Berger expected to be the only change to the squad that faced Wellington two weeks ago. Adelaide will miss Robert Cornthwaite but took advantage of the short-term injury replacement rule to bring in Rostyn Griffiths, a 20-year old midfielder who just signed a one-year deal with Blackburn.

My tip: Melbourne to grab a 1-0 lead, then park in defence.