Oakleigh Cannons v Melbourne Knights
2nd v 12th  
8.30pm, Friday May 9, 2014
Jack Edwards Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #OCvMK #NPLVIC

Last round:
Oakleigh Cannons 6-0 Dandenong Thunder
Hume City 2-0 Melbourne Knights

Form:
Oakleigh Cannons: DWDWW
Melbourne Knights: LLLLL

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

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

The Cannons are quickly turning Jack Edwards Reserve into a fortress, scoring 14 goals and earning maximum points from their three home matches. The Knights, who have slumped to five consecutive defeats and haven’t scored in their past three outings, are running out of options up front. Star striker Rodrigo Covarrubias sustained a knee injury last week and will most likely join fellow injured striker Jacob Colosimo on the sidelines, though the club is yet to confirm the severity of his injury.

Northcote City v Dandenong Thunder
6th v 5th  
3.00pm, Saturday May 10, 2014
John Cain Memorial Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #NCvDT #NPLVIC
Highlights to follow on FFV TV

Last round:
Northcote City 2-3 Port Melbourne Sharks
Oakleigh Cannons 6-0 Dandenong Thunder

Form:
Northcote City: LWWWL
Dandenong Thunder: WWDLL

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

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, Ryan Burns, Alan Kearney, Marcus Schroen, Brendan Craig, Zaim Zeneli, Jake Nakic, Jack Caminiti, Jarod Blackbourn

Northcote City will be without coach Goran Lozanovski, who has been suspended for this weekend following a misconduct charge from the Round 3 loss to Ballarat. Dandenong will also be down in personnel after David King was sent off in the 6-0 loss to Oakleigh. Both sides are coming off a loss but the signs are more worrying for Thunder, which is in desperate need of a win after a poor fortnight.

Ballarat Red Devils v Port Melbourne Sharks
11th v 10th  
7.45pm, Saturday May 10, 2014
Morshead Park Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, hashtags #BRDvPM #NPLVIC

Last round:
Ballarat Red Devils 1-2 South Melbourne
Northcote City 2-3 Port Melbourne Sharks

Form:
Ballarat Red Devils: WLLDL
Port Melbourne Sharks: DWLLW

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

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

Ballarat couldn’t find the fairytale story it was after in its first home match last week, but it will look to build on a solid second half against the unstoppable South Melbourne when it hosts Port Melbourne on Saturday night. The Sharks will be buoyed by their surprise 3-2 win way to an in-form Northcote City, but will need to display something they have not yet shown this season – consistency – if they are to grab a result on the road.

Hume City v Goulburn Valley Suns
7th v 14th
3.00pm, Sunday May 11, 2014
Broadmeadows Valley Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HCvGVS #NPLVIC

Last round:
Hume City 2-0 Melbourne Knights
Werribee City 1-2 Goulburn Valley Suns

Form:
Hume City: LLWLW
Goulburn Valley Suns: LLLLW

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

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

There’s a new man in charge at the Suns, following today’s announcement that ex-Melbourne Heart goalkeeper coach Peter Zois had taken on the role as head coach. Confidence is high at Goulburn Valley following the club’s maiden win last week, so Zois won’t have to worry about picking up the players’ spirits ahead of the trip to Broadmeadows on Sunday. Hume City has had somewhat of a mini revival with two wins in the past three weeks and will present a tough challenge for the Suns.

Werribee City v Pascoe Vale
9th v 13th      
3.00pm, Sunday May 11, 2014
Galvin Park
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #WCvPV #NPLVIC

Last round:
Werribee City 1-2 Goulburn Valley Suns
Pascoe Vale 2-3 Heidelberg United

Form:
Werribee City: WLWLL
Pascoe Vale: DLWDL

Werribee City squad from: Steven Cudrig, Matthew Cundari, Milan Savic (C), 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

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

Werribee City was all the rage three weeks ago but has fallen away badly in the past fortnight, particularly in defence. To make matters worse, it will be without suspended defender Oliver Rowland. Pascoe Vale’s inconsistency continues to haunt it, but a close contest is to be expected as both sides fight to stay out of the relegation zone.

South Melbourne v Bentleigh Greens
1st v 3rd
5.00pm, Sunday May 11, 2014
Lakeside Stadium
Radio: Live on NPL VIC Live (or via TuneIn app on smartphones – search ‘Live Cast’)
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvBG #NPLVIC

Last round:
Ballarat Red Devils 1-2 South Melbourne
Green Gully 3-2 Bentleigh Greens

Form:
South Melbourne: WWWWW
Bentleigh Greens: DWWWL

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

Bentleigh Greens squad from: Wayne Wallace (C), Kyle Nix, Ross Archibald, Stuart Webster, Luke Pilkington, Alastair Bray, Luc Jeggo, Tom Matthews, Luke O’Dea, 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

South Melbourne’s win last week handed the club its seventh successive win and its best start to a season in its entire history, but it will face its biggest challenge yet on Sunday. The Greens have troubled South Melbourne in previous years and are a well-drilled outfit playing quality football under John Anastasiadis. The match of the round promises to thrill and will be broadcast live (details above).

Heidelberg United v Green Gully
4th v 8th
6.00pm, Sunday May 11, 2014
Olympic Village
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HUvGG #NPLVIC

Last round:
Heidelberg United 3-2 Pascoe Vale
Green Gully 3-2 Bentleigh Greens

Form:
Heidelberg United: WLWWW
Green Gully: LLLLW

Heidelberg United squad from: Stefan Baricevic, Luke Byles (C), Les Doumbalis, Andrew Cartanos, Gianluca Fantacci, Daniel Heffernan, Dean Jancevski, Kaine Sheppard, 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

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

Green Gully would have been excused for losing to Bentleigh last week, but it showed great character to bounce back and cause the upset of the round, despite not having a head coach after Aaron Symons departed the club just days before. Green Gully is yet to announce Symons’ successor but will need another huge effort to defeat Heidelberg, which has won four of its past five matches and suddenly finds itself in the top four after a slow start to the season.

NPL 1 – Round 7

Whittlesea Ranges v St Albans Saints
8th v 4th  
8.30pm, Friday May 9, 2014
Epping Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #WRvSAS #NPLVIC
Highlights to follow on FFV TV

Avondale Heights v Richmond
1st v 10th    
3.00pm, Saturday May 10, 2014
Avondale Heights Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #AHvRSC #NPLVIC

Sunshine George Cross v North Geelong Warriors
3rd v 7th    
3.00pm, Saturday May 10, 2014
Chaplin Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SGCvNGW #NPLVIC

FC Bendigo v Dandenong City
13th v 9th  
3.00pm, Saturday May 10, 2014
Tom Flood Sports Centre
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #FCBvDC #NPLVIC

Moreland Zebras v Brunswick City
12th v 14th  
3.00pm, Sunday May 11, 2014
De Chene Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MZvBC #NPLVIC

Kingston City v Box Hill United
5th v 2nd
8.30pm, Monday May 12, 2014
The Grange Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #KCvBHU #NPLVIC

FC Bulleen Lions v Springvale White Eagles
6th v 11th
8.30pm, Monday May 12, 2014
Veneto Club - David Barro Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BLvSWE #NPLVIC

Pictured: Northcote City defender Kristian Konstantinidis in action (image credit: Graeme Furlong)