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The A-League is back in action with another set of important fixtures this week as Melbourne City lock horns with Macarthur FC at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Friday. Both teams have been impressive in recent weeks and will want to win this match.
Macarthur FC find themselves in second place in the A-League standings at the moment and have enjoyed an excellent first season in the Australian top-flight. The away side suffered a 2-0 defeat against league-leaders Central Coast Mariners last week and will want to bounce back in this game.
Melbourne City, on the other hand, are currently in sixth place in the league table and will have to work hard to secure their top-six finish this season. The home side thrashed Melbourne Victory by a 6-0 margin last week and will be confident ahead of this fixture.
Melbourne City vs Macarthur FC Head-to-Head
Melbourne City and Macarthur FC have never played a game against each other and will want to get their head-to-head record off to a positive start. Macarthur FC are new to the A-League and will have to adapt to a new opponent.
The newly-formed outfit has exceeded expectations in the A-League this season and has already managed to shock some of the other seasoned teams in the Australian top-flight.
Melbourne City form guide in the A-League: W-W-W-L-L
Macarthur FC form guide in the A-League: L-W-L-W-W
Melbourne City vs Macarthur FC Team News
Melbourne City
Andrew Nabbout has recovered from his hamstring injury and will be included in the squad for the game against Macarthur FC. Melbourne City were impressive against Melbourne Victory and are unlikely to make drastic changes to their team for this fixture.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Macarthur FC
Milislav Popovic is currently injured and will be unable to take the field for Macarthur FC this weekend. The away side has excellent players in its ranks and has a point to prove in this fixture.
Injured: Milislav Popovic
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Melbourne City vs Macarthur FC Predicted XI
Melbourne City Predicted XI (4-3-3): Tom Glover; Scott Jamieson, Curtis Good, Rostyn Griffiths, Ben Garuccio; Marco Tilio, Taras Gomulka, Florin Berenguer; Craig Noone, Jamie Maclaren, Connor Metcalfe
Macarthur Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Adam Federici; James Meredith, Mark Milligan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Ivan Franjic; Benat Etxebarria, Denis Genreau; Moudi Najjar, Loic Puyo, Markel Susaeta; Matt Derbyshire
Melbourne City vs Macarthur FC Prediction
Melbourne City were sensational against Melbourne Victory in their previous game and will want to pull off a similar result this weekend. Florin Berenguer and Connor Metcalfe were exceptional last week and will be intent on playing a similar role in this fixture.
Macarthur FC were well below their best against Central Coast Mariners and will want to avoid another slip-up this week. Melbourne City are the better team at the moment, however, and should be able to win this game.
Prediction: Melbourne City 3-1 Macarthur FC
