- Melbourne Victory have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions.
- Melbourne City FC have won 5, drawn 1 and lost 4 of their last 10 in all competitions, but come into this game on a run of 2 defeats.
- The last 3 derby meetings in the A-League 2025/2026 and A-League 2026-2027 have seen Big V win 2-1, lose 3-1.
Big V can take the bragging rights
Melbourne Victory should take the derby spoils against Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park on Saturday because Big V have the better momentum going into the game and their attacking approach has been honed to an impressive standard since Giovanni Savarese took charge on 1 July 2026.
The Big V's approach is to be the more direct, attack-first side and they can change shape to play in various attacking compact formations that provide plenty of options to run into the box. Savarese's side like to play fast and burst tempo whenever they can in transition and, as a result, have recorded 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in their last 5 matches.
Victory's most recent 3 results saw them draw 1-1 with The Cong Viettel FC away in the AFC Champions League 2, then draw 0-0 away to South Melbourne FC before losing on penalties in the Australia Cup before beating FC Seoul 3-0 at home in the AFC Champs League 2.
Clarismario Rodrigus has scored two of Big V's five goals in their last 5 so he is their most lethal finisher at the moment.
City will press and possession dominance could follow
Aurelio Vidmar has been in charge of City since 2 November 2023 and he has yet to change their DNA much, with City still preferring to keep the ball, build from the back in an organised fashion and be aggressive in high pressing. They will do all of those things against Big V, but that could be like playing chess if they can get the hosts' defense to sit deep early in the game. City have been in poor form, losing 4 of their last 5, and come into this contest on the back of two defeats. Their most recent 2 games saw them lose 2-0 away to Queensland Lions SC in the Australia Cup and then 3-1 away to Auckland FC in the A-League. Medin Memeti has scored 2 of City's 6 goals in their last 5 so he remains their most dangerous attacking force.
Big V to edge close derby in AAMI Park
Backing Big V at 2.3 seems like the right thing to do for this derby clash, despite City's odds of 2.8 for the away win also being pretty tempting and the draw at 3.6. Big V have not beaten City at home in their last 2 meetings, but the derby edge is still something to be considered.
The visitors score plenty away from home, averaging 2.50 goals per game, and should have some chances in this game given the pressure they will put on Big V, but the Big V are playing the better footy at the moment and we think they can just edge it.
Over 2.5 goals at 1.7 and both teams to score at 1.6 look good bets here as the contest should be quite lively with chances at both ends.
