Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory Prediction: Visitors to prey on managerless hosts

David Zdrilic became the first managerial casualty of the 2025/26 Australian A-League Men’s season, paying the price for Perth Glory’s failure to win either of their first two matches (D1, L1). Up next for the Western Australia outfit is a game against Melbourne Victory, one of two other sides yet to taste success this term.

Below are my Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of Friday’s meeting at HBF Park (10:45 GMT, TNT Sports 2).

Team News

Perth Glory are missing injured goalkeepers Mark Birighitti and Cameron Cook (both knee), as well as Sam Sutton (knee), Zach Lisolajski (hamstring), Joel Anasmo (Achilles), Jaiden Kucharski (groin), Nicholas Pennington (soreness) and Luke Amos (unspecified).

However, Manchester United Academy graduate and former Derby County star Tom Lawrence is expected to make his ALM debut, having completed another full week of training.

Football Odds

Brendan Hammill (knee) and Nishan Velupillay (hamstring) remain sidelined for Melbourne Victory, but skipper Roderick Miranda is back fit following a foot problem and is in contention for his first appearance of the season.

Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory Odds

Perth Glory have failed to win any of the last five head-to-heads (D1, L4), suffering a pair of 2-0 defeats in 2024/25, and the managerless club are 5/2, or a 28.6% chance, to end their winless run against Melbourne Victory on Friday.

The visitors are 5/6 to claim their first three points of the campaign, implying a 54.5% probability of success, while the draw is backable at 13/5.

Match Result - Melbourne Victory @ 5/6

Like Glory, Victory are only on one point after two games, and they suffered their own embarrassing defeat last weekend, losing 5-2 at Newcastle Jets.

However, in their opening contest, they held reigning Premiers Plate winners, Auckland, to a goalless draw, and will feel that their hosts on Friday are there for the taking.

Today's Football Fixtures

Victory have dominated this head-to-head since the start of last year, winning all four competitive meetings, keeping clean sheets in both games last season. They also beat Glory 3-0 in a friendly on September 24, just under a month before kicking off their league campaign.

With Glory still yet to appoint a replacement for Zdrilic, there will be no ‘new manager bounce’ on Friday, so they can’t even lean on that for the visit of Victory, who should show their quality at HBF Park.

Anytime Goalscorer - Denis Genreau (MVC) @ 3/1

Denis Genreau isn’t exactly known for his goalscoring prowess, failing to net more than twice in a single league season since notching three times as a teenager for Melbourne City’s NPL team in the 2018 NPL Victoria 2 campaign.

However, after moving back to Australia in the latest off-season, Genreau looks like a player reborn.

The 26-year-old hit the target with one of his two shots against Auckland on October 18, and six days later, against the Jets, he recorded six efforts - three on target - and scored his first goal for Victory.

Four of Genreau’s shots were inside the penalty area, with another two taken from outside the 18-yard box.

Victory’s No.10 popped up in a few dangerous positions, and at 3/1, he’s a tempting price to back again in the anytime goalscorer market on Friday, particularly against a Glory side that shipped four to Melbourne City last weekend, and two to Wellington Phoenix the game before.

Offers

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