- Goulburn Valley Suns have won four and drawn one of their last five competitive matches.
- Eastern Lions have won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five fixtures.
- The two clubs have split their two meetings in 2026.
Suns will make Lions’ lives difficult
Goulburn Valley Suns and Eastern Lions have split their games in 2026, with the Suns taking the points in a 2-1 win over the Lions in the Victoria FFA Cup before being outplayed in a 3-1 league loss.
But the Suns have taken huge steps forward since then and currently sit second in the Victoria Premier League 2 table with 31 points from 16 games, while the Lions sit mid-table with 19 points.
Craig Carley has his side playing a patient, structured game.
They are a club with good leadership and structure, particularly in the defensive third.
Suns are full of momentum
The Suns play their best footy when they can leverage the set-pieces and are full of confidence going into this clash after winning four and drawing one of their last five games. Danny Edwards has netted several late match-winners in May and is their most dangerous player.
Mangara Munguakonkhwa brings a different dimension to the Suns, particularly on set-plays where he can be a real threat and second balls in the box are his specialty.
Daniel Puscasu's Lions are a good side, but have been inconsistent. They lost 4-0 to Kingston City.
Lions can make it interesting
Lions' best results have come with Tyreke Johnson in their team, usually as an attacking outlet. He is their top scorer in the league and can be a handful if he's on his game. E. Zewdie is another key man who provides Lions' central creativity and is one of the club's leading scorers this season.
The Lions are high-tempo and aggressive in their pressing game, particularly for the first 30 minutes, when they aim to disrupt the Suns' rhythm and score from turnovers. The bookies have priced this game with the Suns as clear favourites, but the Lions can play a role in an open contest.
Goulburn Valley Suns are 1.63 favourites to beat Eastern Lions, who are 4.16 with the draw 4.05. The bookies are wrong to make the Suns such clear favourites here as the Lions will make this match very difficult for them.
A win would be great for both clubs
A home victory would boost the Suns' promotion push while an upset win for the Lions would shake up the top half and be a big dent in the hosts' dreams of a promotion push.
We're keen on the Over 2.5 goals market, which has been heavily favored by the punters who have made it the top bet on the game. But we agree with them and think the Lions' style should make this an open game with enough chances for both to score, even if the Suns get the most of them.
Backing the Suns to win on the double chance market is our main recommendation for this game and we believe a 2-1 scoreline is possible as the hosts tend to score late goals while the Lions can be dangerous in the early stages.