Port Melbourne v Northcote City
8th v 11th
8.30pm, Wednesday April 16, 2014
JL Murphy Reserve
Highlights on FFV TV
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PMvNC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Goulburn Valley Suns 1-2 Port Melbourne
Pascoe Vale 0-1 Northcote City

Form:
Port Melbourne: DLDW
Northcote City: LLLW

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, Alexander Connell

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, Marino Gasparis, Greg Lombardo, Trent Rixon, Aaron Ward, Jonathan Bounas, Liam Wooding, Michael Catalano, James Kalifatidis, Wade Dekker

What to expect: Both sides recorded their first wins last week and met in the Dockerty Cup just three weeks ago, with Northcote City prevailing 3-0 on the road. Northcote regained key defenders Kristian Konstantinidis and Tremayne Sadler last week and recorded its first clean sheet, but Port Melbourne does pose a serious attacking threat on its home turf. A tight contest awaits.

Player to watch: Konstantinidis played last year’s Victorian Premier League Grand Final with a broken nose and torn hamstring. It says a lot about his courage, and his return to Northcote City’s defence last week, after a trial overseas, was massive.

Bentleigh Greens v Green Gully
4th v 12th
8.30pm, Wednesday April 16, 2014
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BGvGG #NPLVIC

Last round:
Werribee City 0-1 Bentleigh Greens
Oakleigh Cannons 6-1 Green Gully

Form:
Bentleigh Greens: WDW
Green Gully: WLLL

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

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

What to expect: It doesn’t get any easier for a crippled Green Gully, which has lost its past three matches. Most alarmingly, it has conceded a whopping 11 goals in its past two games. It will be a tough ask for new coach Aaron Symons – promoted last week from his role as assistant coach – to grab a win away to a Bentleigh side which is playing some pretty decent football. The Greens may have lost some stars during the off-season but are a well-drilled, slick machine who look to be an early title contender. Green Gully will again be without suspended duo Kieran Gonzalez and Stephen Downes.

Player to watch: Luc Jeggo, the brother of Melbourne Victory’s Jimmy Jeggo, is one of the finest advocates of Bentleigh coach John Anastasiadis’ possession-based game plan. He’ll look to again control the midfield and set up his side’s attacking forays.

Melbourne Knights v Hume City
6th v 10th
8.30pm, Wednesday April 16, 2014
Knights Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, hashtags #MKvHC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 1-2 Dandenong Thunder
Hume City 0-3 South Melbourne

Form:
Melbourne Knights: WWLL
Hume City: WLLL

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, Damien Rastocic, Michael Simms, Ben Surey (C), Christopher Talajic, Sam Torrens, Tomislav Uskok, Daniel Visevic, Nikola Srbinoski

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

What to expect: Both teams looked so promising in the early rounds but now find themselves in desperate need of a win. The Knights have conceded late goals to lose their past two matches but have dominated periods of play without being able to capitalise. With so much at stake for both sides, a fierce battle can be expected.

Player to watch: Hume City has scored just one goal in its past three matches and needs more from star signing Richie Cardozo. The striker, who was signed from New Zealand top-flight club Waitakere United, is a game changer when in form.

Dandenong Thunder v Oakleigh Cannons
3rd v 2nd
8.15pm, Thursday April 17, 2014
George Andrews Reserve
Highlights to follow on FFV TV
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #DTvOC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 1-2 Dandenong Thunder
Oakleigh Cannons 6-1 Green Gully

Form:
Dandenong Thunder: DWWW
Oakleigh Cannons: WWDW

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

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

What to expect: The match of the round. Both are from the south-east, have a rich rivalry and are undefeated. NPL Player of the Month Dusan Bosnjak will feature for Oakleigh after recovering from a knock to the knee, while Rising Star of the Month Matt Millar will return to Dandenong’s line-up after missing last week through injury. Oakleigh striker Nate Foster will also return to his old club, fresh off scoring a brace against Green Gully. It’s all set up beautifully.

Player to watch: If nobody knew about Andreas Govas, they would now after his scorching free-kick against Green Gully. The Oakleigh midfielder oozes class and has wowed coach Miron Bleiberg since joining in the off-season from Greek club AEL Kalloni FC.

Pascoe Vale v Heidelberg United
13th v 9th   
8.30pm, Thursday April 17, 2014
Hosken Reserve
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #PVvHU #NPLVIC

Last round:
Pascoe Vale 0-1 Northcote City
Heidelberg United v Ballarat Red Devils (postponed)

Form:
Pascoe Vale: LLDL
Heidelberg United: LLW

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

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

What to expect: Heidelberg United scored six goals in its last away match, but goals are normally hard to come by at Hosken Reserve. Pascoe Vale’s stringent defence will again prove hard to break down in what is expected to be a low-scoring, tight affair. The Bergers will have the added benefit of a week off after their Round 4 match was postponed to Easter Monday.

Player to watch: Defenders don’t often get the recognition they deserve, but Pascoe Vale coach Vitale Ferrante has lauded praise on right-back Adrian Talarico for his recent performances. Ferrante will be looking for another strong performance from the 22-year-old.

South Melbourne v Ballarat Red Devils
1st v 5th
8.30pm, Thursday April 17, 2014
Lakeside Stadium
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvBRD #NPLVIC

Last round:
Hume City 0-3 South Melbourne
Heidelberg United v Ballarat Red Devils (postponed)

Form:
South Melbourne: WWWW
Ballarat Red Devils: WW

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

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

What to expect: Both sides have won every match and are yet to play at home, but the wait will end for South Melbourne fans on Thursday night. After four away matches, the league leader finally returns home with an incredible run of form under its belt. Ballarat will prove to be a tricky opponent though. The Red Devils have impressed with wins over Goulburn Valley and Northcote City, but are they good enough to steal points off South Melbourne?

Player to watch:U23 New Zealand international defender James Musa was outstanding for South Melbourne last week. The 21-year-old is a former Wellington Phoenix player who also signed for English Premier League side Fulham in 2012, but didn't make a senior appearance.

Goulburn Valley Suns v Werribee City
14th v 7th
7.30pm, Saturday April 19, 2014
McEwen Reserve
Radio: Live on NPL VIC Live (can also be streamed via the TuneIn app on smartphones – search ‘Live Cast’)
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GVSvWC #NPLVIC

Last round:
Goulburn Valley Suns 1-2 Port Melbourne
Werribee City 0-1 Bentleigh Greens

Form:
Goulburn Valley Suns: LLLL
Werribee City: LWWL

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

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

What to expect: Will it be fifth-time lucky for the Suns? The NPL’s new entity keeps becoming unstuck by late goals and will enter its fifth successive home match still without a single point. Their strength – goalscoring – is Werribee’s weaknesses, but the visitors have been a stronger defensive unit. A close contest beckons, with NPL VIC Live to call all the action from Shepparton (details above).

Player to watch: Craig Carley always seems to turn it on for the home fans, and the Suns will again look to their star striker to break down Werribee’s defence and add to his tally of four goals.

Image credit: Mark Avellino