Bentleigh Greens v Pascoe Vale
8th (game in hand) v 14th
8.30pm, Friday April 4, 2014
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Radio: Live on NPL VIC Live (can also be streamed via the TuneIn app on smartphones – search ‘Live Cast’)
Highlights on FFV TV
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BGvPV #NPLVIC

Last round:
Northcote City 2-3 Bentleigh Greens
Pascoe Vale 0-2 Melbourne Knights

Bentleigh Greens squad from: Wayne Wallace (C), Kyle Nix, Ross Archibald, Stuart Webster, Luke O’Dea, Luke Pilkington, Alastair Bray, Luc Jeggo, Tom Matthews, Liam McCormick, Steve Hatzikostas, Jamie De Abreu, David Stirton, Nick Modaffari, Perry Lambropoulos, Brent McGrath, James Cumming, Anthony Proia, Christian Cavallo, Jack Webster, Lewis Foster

Pascoe Vale squad from: Stefaan Sardelic, Eli Luttmer, Nathen Megic, Tomislav Milardovic, Alvaro Carrillo, Adrian Talarico, Michael Ferrante, Carl Recchia, Joseph Youssef, Luca Santilli, Jonathon Voulgaris, Roberto Di Vito, Davey Van’t Schip, Marco Santilli, Mark Pistininzi, Matthew Lazarides, Yaren Sozer

After losing the 2013 VPL Grand Final to Northcote City, Bentleigh exacted revenge on its opponent with a hard-fought 3-2 away win. The Greens were denied the time and space to play their passing game, but showed great physicality and resolve to grab the three points. They’ll look to continue their positive start to the season when they welcome Pascoe Vale, which sits bottom of the table and is yet to score. Despite its lowly position, Pascoe Vale posed a serious threat to Melbourne Knights last week. Listen to the action in this contest with NPL VIC Live (details above).

Port Melbourne Sharks v Oakleigh Cannons
10th v 3rd
8.30pm, Friday April 4, 2014
JL Murphy Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PMvOC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Port Melbourne Sharks 2-3 South Melbourne
Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 Heidelberg United

Port Melbourne squad from: Luke Prelevic, Stefan Nigro, Lisandro Paz, Andrew Milicevic, Nick Krousouratis, James Riccobene,  Connor Redden, Kamal Ibrahim, Amadu Koroma, Andrew Viola, Kosta Stoumpos, Nick Tzoulis, John Lazaridis, Alessandro Venezia, Phillip Riccobene (C), Chris Grossman, Adam Hrehoresin, Kevin Braniff, Lambros Honos

Oakleigh Cannons squad from: John Honos, Aron Wilford, Dominic D’Angelo, Thomas Lakic, Goran Zoric, Evan Christodoulou (C), Bonel Obradovic, Veton Korcari, Dean Piemonte, Dusan Bosnjak, Nate Foster, Alexander Connell, Harry Raworth, Laurent Coralie, Stelios Konstantinidis, Ariel Ritz, Gideon Sweet, Andreas Govas, Ian Kamau, Jordan Lowdon, Omar Ammache, George Krommidas, Thomas Lakic, Michael Karuiki, Loui Paraskevas, Evan Kraloglou

Both sides had contrasting conclusions in their Friday night matches in Round 2, with Port Melbourne surrendering a one-goal lead late in the proceedings against South Melbourne and Oakleigh snatching a win against Heidelberg United in the final minute of injury time. A close contest can be expected on Friday night, though the pressure will be on Port Melbourne to secure its first win in its third successive home match. Oakleigh has conceded just one goal so far this season, with goalkeeper John Honos in extraordinary form, but can it stop the league’s leading goalscorer Kevin Braniff away from home?

Green Gully Cavaliers v South Melbourne
5th v 1st
3.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
Green Gully Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, hashtags #GGvSM #NPLVIC

Last round:
Dandenong Thunder 1-0 Green Gully
Port Melbourne 2-3 South Melbourne

Green Gully squad from: Jem Berkant, Mitchell Bissinger, Ratip Cileli, Cameron Davies, Akim Abdul, Stephen Downes, Brent Fisher, Jeffrey Fleming, Kieran Gonzalez, Sean Harding, Jason Hayne, Daniel Jones, Osagie Ederaro, Matthew Sanders, Shaun Timmins, Andy Vargas (C), Rodrigo Vargas, Brian Vanega, Ardian Vuniqi

South Melbourne squad from: Jason Saldaris, Tim Mala, Andrew Mullett, Michael Eagar (C), Mathew Theodore, Dimitri Tsiaras, Nick Epifano, Milos Lujic, Tyson Holmes, Brad Norton, Iqbal Jawadi, James Musa, Kobbie Boahene, James Reed, Slaven Vranesevic, Christopher Maynard, Andy Kecojevic, Leigh Minopoulos

Green Gully would be disappointed to have lost to a 10-man Dandenong Thunder last week. The Cavaliers created many chances but lacked the cutting edge in their final third, leaving player-coach Jeffrey Fleming frustrated post-match. Despite the loss, Green Gully has impressed in the early stages and has a solid record against South Melbourne, which sits on top and is looking ominous with a squad full of quality depth. Expect a close contest here in what looms as one of the matches of the round.

Northcote City v Ballarat Red Devils
12th v 7th (game in hand)
3.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
John Cain Memorial Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #NCvBRD #NPLVIC

Last round:
Northcote City 2-3 Bentleigh Greens
Goulburn Valley Suns 2-3 Ballarat Red Devils

Northcote City squad from: Chris Theodoridis, Luke Gavalas, Adrian Chiappetta (C), Ersin Kaya, Steve Sifinos, Metekan Yilmaz, Benjudah Fitzpatrick, Philip Petreski, Josh Hiles, Jonathan Munoz, Marino Gasparis, Greg Lombardo, Trent Rixon, Aaron Ward, Jonathan Bounas, Liam Wooding, Evan Kounavelis, Michael Catalano, James Kalifatidis, Wade Dekker

Ballarat Red Devils squad from: Aaron Romein, Tristan Romein, Daniel Tinker, Dane Milovanovic, Adrian Curtain, Liam Harding, Nelson Salvatore, Michael Trigger, Dom Swinton, Charlie King (C), Shaun Romein, Danny O’Donnell, Daniel Firth, Bolish Salvatore, Pat Karras, Jai Cartledge, Steven Thomson, Simon Murphy, Jordan Franken

Northcote City, last year’s VPL champion, is clearly taking time to adapt to a new-look squad and the loss of several stars in the off-season. The loss of centre-back Michael Eagar – who is now South Melbourne’s captain – has particularly hit hard, given Northcote has conceded six goals in its opening two losses. It will again be without defenders Kristian Konstantinidis and Tremayne Sadler, who return from an overseas trial next week, but will regain star striker Trent Rixon. Ballarat has played just one NPL match but was very impressive in its 3-2 win over Goulburn Valley. Bentleigh recruit Dane Milovanovic has served his one-match suspension and is expected to make his debut for the Red Devils.

Dandenong Thunder v Hume City
4th v 6th
7.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
George Andrews Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #DTvHC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Dandenong Thunder 1-0 Green Gully
Werribee City 2-1 Hume City

Dandenong Thunder squad from: Frazer Siddall , Jarryd Barnes, Ilir Pali, Ramazan Tavsancioglu, Faisal Sakhi Zada, Alan Mulcahy (C), Kieran Dover, Matthew Millar, Ivan Skorich, Feston Azizi, Kristopher Kioussis, Brendan Elmazovski, Anthony Giannopoulos, David King, Ryan Burns, Alan Kearney, Marcus Schroen, Brendan Craig, Zaim Zeneli, Jake Nakic, Jack Caminiti, Jarod Blackbourn

Hume City squad from: Chris Oldfield, Evan Alexandrow-Ridley, Izzy Erdogan, Shane Rexhepi, Baki Efe, Matthew Hennessey, Petar Franjic, Johnny Stojcevski, Jose Guerrero, Nick Hegarty (C), Kliment Taseski, Devon Bonne, Kaan Korkmaz, Aaron Turner , Joseph Franjic, Ali Turgut, Johnny Buceto, Nick Marinos, Samed Altundag, Richie Cardozo

There will be some key talking points in this match-up, with former Thunder captain Shane Rexhepi returning to George Andrews Reserve in Hume City colours and his teammate Matt Hennessey to be pitted against his father - Thunder coach Dean Hennessey. Not much separates these two sides and it’s hard to predict who will have bragging rights in the Hennessey household come late Saturday night, though Dandenong showed great character to defeat Green Gully with one man less last week. If his post-match comments after the 2-1 loss to Werribee City are anything to go by, Hume City coach Lou Acevksi will be looking for a much better effort from his players in their second successive away fixture.

Goulburn Valley Suns v Heidelberg United
11th v 13th
7.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
John McEwen Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GVSvHU #NPLVIC

Last round:
Goulburn Valley Suns 2-3 Ballarat Red Devils
Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 Heidelberg United

Goulburn Valley Suns squad from: Nick Kalafatis (C), Craig Carley, Naum Sekulovski, Kristian Sarkies, Stipo Andrijasevic, Hernan Espindola, Fahed Alghazaly, Daniel Chaabani, Rudy Saglam, Ben Clarke, Zac Paraskevas,  Josh Glover, Phillip Petrovski , Riley Hamilton, Cody Sellwood, Tom Langman, Anthony Calandro, Frankie Lagana

Heidelberg United squad from: Stefan Baricevic, Luke Byles (C), Les Doumbalis, Andrew Cartanos, Gianluca Fantacci, Daniel Heffernan, Dean Jancevski, Kostas Kanakaris, Petr Kratky, Mark McGough, Griffin McMaster, Paul Miller, Steven Pace, Jack Petrie, Phillip Petrovksi, Ryan Norval, Zane Sole, Haris Stamboulidis, Daniel Vasilevski, Jordan Wilkes, Yusuf Yusuf

Goulburn Valley and Heidelberg were the heartbreak stories of Round 2, losing their matches in the final minute of injury time to sink further down the ladder. The Suns are still gelling and improving each week, and they could be bolstered by the return of injured players Frankie Lagana (calf) and Fahed Alghazaly (shoulder) for their third successive home match. Heidelberg coach George Katsakis was pleased with his charges’ efforts in the loss to Oakleigh, and they’ll need every bit of that again in a tricky road trip to Shepparton.

Melbourne Knights v Werribee City
2nd v 9th
3.00pm, Sunday April 6, 2014
Knights Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MKvWC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Pascoe Vale 0-2 Melbourne Knights
Werribee City 2-1 Hume City

Melbourne Knights squad from: Shayan Alinejad, Milan Batur, Adrian Barresi, Anthony Colosimo, Jacob Colosimo, Rodrigo Covarrubias, Marijan Cvitkovic, Ivan Grgic, Anthony Duzel, Antun Kovacic, Ante Kozul, Chris May, James McGarry, Michael O’Farrell, Damien Rastocic, Michael Simms, Ben Surey (C), Christopher Talajic, Sam Torrens, Tomislav Uskok, Daniel Visevic

Werribee City squad from: Steven Cudrig, Matthew Cundari, Milan Savic (C), Oliver Rowland, Tommy Dunn, Zois Galanopoulos, Nemanja Govedarica, Joshua Groenewald, Ryan Filipovic, Domenico Marafioti, Ray Markley, Damir Marusic, Daniel Petrov, Ivica Praiz, Anthony Ragusa, Daniel Sweeney, Simon Symeoy, Bobby Vidanovski, Simon Zappia

The Knights are in scintillating form and it’s hard to find a weakness in their armoury. They’ll have their work cut out though against a youthful Werribee City, which is full of confidence after wins over Hume City in Round 2 and Oakleigh Cannons in the Dockerty Cup. Nino Ragusa’s men have been hard to break down in defence in their past two outings, and one of the key protagonists – new recruit Ryan Filipovic – will be looking to impress in his return to his former club.

NPL 1

Avondale Heights v Brunswick City
3.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
Avondale Heights Reserve
Highlights on FFV TV
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #AHvBC #NPLVIC

Sunshine George Cross v Whittlesea Ranges
3.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
Chaplin Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SGCvWR #NPLVIC

Springvale White Eagles v North Geelong Warriors
3.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
White Eagles Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SWEvNGW #NPLVIC

Box Hill United v Dandenong City
3.15pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
Wembley Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BHUvDC #NPLVIC

FC Bendigo v Moreland Zebras
7.00pm, Saturday April 5, 2014
Tom Flood Sports Centre
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #FCBvMZ #NPLVIC

Kingston City v St Albans Saints
8.30pm, Monday April 7, 2014
The Grange Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #KCvSAS #NPLVIC

FC Bulleen Lions v Richmond
8.30pm, Monday April 7, 2014
Veneto Club – David Barro Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BLvRSC #NPLVIC

Pictured: Northcote City will be looking for a much-needed win on Saturday at home to Ballarat (image credit: Mark Avellino)