- Heidelberg United U23 are the runaway form side in the NPL Victoria U23, winning four of their last five fixtures, including 6-1 at home to South Melbourne and 10-1 away at Dandenong City.
- Preston Lions U23 are in the lower mid-table, conceding 34 and scoring only 21 in 15 games this season, and have picked up only 14 points, which puts them in the bottom half of the 2026 U23 standings.
- Heidelberg United U23 have a dominant head-to-head record against Preston Lions U23, winning 4-1 and 4-2 in their two most recent home games, while Preston's 4-0 win at home in June 2025 is their only notable result in this fixture.
Red Hot Heidelberg should scorch Lions
Heidelberg United U23's red-hot form in the NPL Victoria U23 should see them make no mistake against a Preston Lions U23 side that have been inconsistent recently.
Sunday's hosts have accumulated 52 goals and 33 points from 16 games to sit just below the summit of the U23s table, but the form side can be found only in Heidelberg where John Anastasiadis' attacking philosophy has clearly been adopted by his U23s.
Fletcher Fulton, Ciaran Bramwell and Max Bisetto have been in prolific form for a team that has scored six and ten goals in two of their recent four league fixtures. They can dominate any game when they get going, which is most of the time, and will be looking for the win that could seal their finals push in this Round 17 fixture.
Preston will be desperate to gain points in this game as it would pull them clear of the lower-mid table and keep their season alive. Zoran Markovski has done a good job instilling a compact shape that remains disciplined to the point of suffocation, but they have only been as consistent as their 4-2 win over Dandenong City and 1-0 defeat at St Albans shows.
Heidelberg to win with over 2.5 goals
Preston Lions U23 are a major underdog at 6.53, but the odds of 1.33 about the home side are very short. We are going to take the greater odds on over 2.5 goals because both teams have been involved in goal fests recently and Heidelberg's U23s have been prolific scorers all season long.
The contrast between the attacking-minded hosts and counter-attacking visitors should make for an interesting contest, with Preston's top threat coming from the senior squad in the shape of Jonas Markovski and Jason Romero. Young guns Jakob Ognenovski and Jet Fittolani also add an energy and freshness to their attacks.
Preston will get chances to counter, but the likelihood of Heidelberg winning the game means we're going to go with a 2-1 or 3-1 win for the home team. The Olympic Village is a good home for them as the cool, fast pitch is ideal for their high-tempo style of play.