The finals chances of Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar are on the line as last year's grand finalists meet Lakeside Stadium in the match of Round 10.

“Finally” was the catchphrase of Round 9 for both teams.

Finally, Melbourne Victory snapped their losing streak with a strong but somewhat fortuitous 3-0 triumph against the Western Sydney Wanderers last round. 

And finally, Brisbane Roar seized a victory of their own with a 3-0 win over Adelaide United.

Against the Wanderers, Melbourne welcomed the return of playmaker Lisa De Vanna and rearranged others to accommodate the absence of Lauren Barnes and Young Matildas representatives Emma Checker and Beattie Goad. 

The shuffles paid dividends, reinvigorating the recently sluggish squad, and possibly more excitingly, presenting new options for coach Joe Montemurro.

De Vanna did what she has been doing all season. She created options, confused the opposition and assisted her teammates in scoring goals. Having her back made all the difference.

Likewise, Steph Catley played well in a more attacking role, penetrating through the midfield and building up the offence pairing with Christine Nairn and De Vanna.

Brisbane Roar’s season might be languishing beneath their usual height, but they’re belatedly putting together some better form.

Against a depleted Adelaide United squad, Brisbane dominated the match through a combination of control, possession and patience.

Hayley Raso presented some swift technical skills and thrills in front of a befuddled United defence whilst Tameka Butt provided some goal scoring finesse.

This was a morale boosting win against the in form Lady Reds and will leave Brisbane with a strong sense of accomplishment and visions of what more could come their way.  

By this stage of the season, a recommendation of which players to watch in this upcoming encounter is fraught with danger because week to week, round to round, and team to team, consistency has been the missing link.

Melbourne have a number of players who play out of their skin one week and then are strikingly absent the next game.

The same could almost be said of Brisbane, although the height they have reached has generally been lower.

Despite all of this, you usually can’t go wrong watching the likes of Victory’s De Vanna, Nairn and Catley as their excellence consistently shines through. There are many others too, but the locals will be particularly looking forward to the hometown return of Caitlin Friend.

Brisbane’s key players are a little harder to pick this season, but based on the form from last round, Tameka Butt could be quite damaging as well as Hayley Raso, Emily Gielnik and any number of Matildas.

Nadine Angerer could be called upon to play a big game if De Vanna is on fire and the quick reflexes of Racheal Quigley could be matched by world class responses from Angerer.

The last time these two teams met was a 1-1 draw in round 6 where Victory were close to taking away the three points before a clever steal and late strike from Sunny Franco levelled the score.

This time, both teams will be looking for a more decisive result than that.

This is pretty much it for Victory. They must win to keep their finals hopes alive and in good condition.

Brisbane on the other hand may just be out of the finals race, although a win will keep that heart beating a little longer, but they’re also playing for that all important pride and self esteem.

Never is there a more dangerous combination.

Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar

Sunday 16 November 2014

Lakeside Stadium, Sydney

Local kick-off: 3pm

* Catch all the action Live at 3.00pm nationally on ABC TV. Or from Monday on ABC iView with a full replay at 3.30am on Tuesday.

** Listen LIVE on FFV Radio from 2.30pm. Head to www.footballfedvic.com.au, or search 'FFV Radio' in the TuneIn smartphone app, or use to bit.ly/FFV_Radio

Melbourne Victory squad: 1. Brianna DAVEY, 2. Hannah BREWER, 5. Lauren BARNES, 6. Gema SIMON, 7. Stephanie CATLEY (C), 8. Amy JACKSON, 9. Racheal QUIGLEY, 10. Christine NAIRN, 11. Lisa DE VANNA, 12. Ella MASTRANTONIO, 15. Emma CHECKER, 16. Beattie GOAD, 17. Gulcan KOCA, 18. Elli REED, 20. Cassandra DIMOVSKI, 29. Caitlin FRIEND

Ins: Emma Checker, Beattie Goad (both return from Westfield Young Matildas), Lauren Barnes (returns from overseas), Cassandra Dimovski (returns from injury)

Outs: Alexandra Natoli, Tiffany Eliadis (both omitted), Erin Herd (contract expired)

Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Nadine ANGERER (gk), 2. Laura ALLEWAY, 4. Clare POLKINGHORNE (c), 5. Brooke SPENCE, 6. Hayley RASO, 7. Kim CARROLL, 8. Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT, 9. Larissa CRUMMER, 10. Katrina GORRY, 11. Vedrana POPOVIC, 13. Tameka BUTT, 14. Natasha WHEELER, 15. Brooke GOODRICH, 16. Angela BEARD, 17. Emily GIELNIK, 20. Kate STEWART (gk)

Ins: Laura Alleway (returns from injury), Angela Beard, Larissa Crummer, Brooke Goodrich (all Westfield Young Matildas)

Outs: Ayesha Norrie (omitted), Pam Bignold, Isobel Dalton (short term contract expired)

Unavailable: Amy Chapman (calf – one week)