Round three of the W-League opens with Melbourne Victory's second home game at ABD Stadium, Broadmeadows against the Newcastle Jets this Saturday at 3pm AEDT.

Victory come into this match after a 2-1 loss against Melbourne City, while the Jets opened their season last weekend with a nil-nil draw against Perth Glory.

In the inaugural Melbourne Derby, Victory came out strong in the first half, giving the W-League’s newest team a run for their money. However they were unable to maintain this momentum and a goal in the ninety third minute wasn't enough to overcome the two goal deficit scored by City in the second half.

Highlights for Victory was the continued impressive performance of New Zealand international, Briar Palmer. Strong up the flank, she was able to connect with both Brooke Elby and Laura Spiranovic to cause trouble for the City defence.

A Matilda-less home opener against the Perth Glory garnered the Jets a point in a game that ended in a goalless scoreline.

While the Jets were missing Georgia Yeoman-Dale and Tara Andrews due to international commitments, it was a strong showing against last season’s most dominant team. Standing out for the Jets in this game was the pairing of Jenna Kingsley and Rhali Dobson who combined on multiple occasions to wreak havoc on the Glory defence.

This weekend will see the return of Hayley Raso and Christine Nairn to the Victory line up. Both of whom will be critical in this next match, with Raso tearing up the sidelines and slotting balls into the box in the Perth Glory game two weekends ago. That sort of tactical forward motion will only be of benefit for the Victory team.

For the Jets, a player to note in this upcoming game is midfielder Gema Simon. Simon who spent the 2014-15 season playing for the Victory has once again returned to the Jets and will be a critical go between for the defence and the Jets attack.

While the last time these two teams played, the result was a 4-0 win to the Victory, their squad has gone through such a transformation through the off-season that this match will once again give the team a proving ground.

However, history is on Victory's side as over the course of the ten matches these two teams have played, the Jets have won once. Providing Victory with an eight win, one draw record to pull confidence from.

As far as Victory are concerned the keys to the match will come in finding a way to maintain their energy, tempo and composure in the second half, as well as polishing up their attacking runs.

The keys in this match will come in the second half. Victory, who have been able to come out strong in the first half, have faltered in the second and this is where the Newcastle Jets can capitalise on mistakes.

For the Jets, maintaining a solid defence will be key with the likes of internationals Megan Oyster and Caprice Dydasco, both getting starts in the Jets opening game. With two young teams, both looking to improve upon their last round results, the Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets should be an exciting match up.

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets

Saturday 31 October 2015

ABD Stadium, Broadmeadows, Melbourne

Local kick-off: 3pm

** Listen LIVE on TuneIn - http://tunein.com/radio/Melbourne-Victory-W-League-Live-s256287/

Head to Head: Played 10 - 8 wins (MVC) - 1 win (NEW) - 1 draw

Melbourne Victory squad: Melissa Barbieri, Annabel Martin, Thea Slatyer, Jessica Pitts, Alexandra Natoli, Enza Barilla, Jamie Pollock, Christine Nairn, Hayley Raso, MelindaJ Barbieri, Briar Palmer, Melissa Taranto, Cindy Lay, Laura Spiranovic, Cassandra Dimovski (gk)

Ins: Hayley Raso (returns from Westfield Matildas duty), Christine Nairn (returns from USA international duty), Cindy Lay (new player)

Outs: Adriana Taranto (injury), Whitney Knight (omitted), Brooke Elby (replacement player period expired)

Unavailable: Gulcan Koca (injured)

Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Hannah Southwell (gk), 2. Sophie Nenadovic, 3. Georgia Yeoman-Dale, 4. Megan Oyster, 5.Caprice Dydasco, 6.Cassidy Davis, 7.Gema Simon (C), 8. Kobie Ferguson, 9. Tara Andrews, 10. Rhali Dobson, 12.Chloe Logarzo, 17. Jenna Kingsley, 18. Claire Wheeler, 19. Hannah Bromley, 20. Claire Coelho (gk)

Ins: Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Tara Andrews (both return from Westfield Matildas duty)

Outs: Ashley Brodigan, Adriana Jones (both omitted)