The A-League returns to Campbelltown this afternoon when Macarthur FC host Melbourne Victory.
With Bulls fourth on the ladder and Victory three spots below, the round seven encounter promises to be a willing affair.
The three points will be the main focus, but there are one or two fascinating sub-plots to this match, which will kick off at 5pm.
One is if there will be a spin-off from Australia’s successful World Cup campaign in Qatar in terms of larger attendance numbers.
Let’s hope so, because having eight A-League players in the Socceroos World Cup Squad pointed to a quality competition.
The other sub-plot is an individual one, but also relates to the World Cup.
Daniel Arzani, who was the wonder boy of Australian soccer in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, failed to win selection for this one.
It will be interesting to see how he reacts to being left out when he lines up for the Bulls against Victory this afternoon.
Hopefully he will send a strong signal to Graham Arnold that he has a lot to offer the Socceroos in the future.
Which would please his club coach, Dwight Yorke, who has been urging Arzani to work harder on his defensive duties.
As for the match statistics, Melbourne Victory have won their last two A-League games against Macarthur FC after losing their first two games against the Bulls.
Neither side has kept a clean sheet in the history of this fixture and I think there could be a lot of goals in this match.
Bruno Fornaroli, who is set to face Macarthur FC for the fifth time in the A-League, will certainly be keen to score his first goal against the only one of the 12 teams he’s faced in the competition so far.
And finally, Macarthur FC will be looking to win back-to-back A-League games for the first time since February 2022 after logging a 3-2 win over Central Coast Mariners in their last game on November 13.
