PlayStation® 4 NPL Victoria Preview
 
NPL - Round 26

South Melbourne v Northcote City
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SMvNC #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
South Melbourne 5-2 Hume City
Northcote City 0-1 Bentleigh Greens

Form:
SM: LDWWW
NC: DLDLL

Last time they met:
South Melbourne 2-1 Northcote City

South Melbourne takes the upper hand into the final day and a win against Northcote City should be good enough to secure consecutive PS4 NPL Victoria titles.

South (55 points, +33 goal difference) leads Bentleigh Greens (55 points, +23 goal difference) by enough that even a win by a solitary goal should seal the title.

With 12 goals scored in the last two games, South has broken the shackles and looks a formidable opponent.

Northcote City were beaten in the final minute by Bentleigh last weekend and have shown a willingness to battle out the season from mid-table safety.

The question will be how determined Northcote is to play spoiler should South get on top in the game.

Bentleigh Greens v Oakleigh Cannons
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, Cheltenham
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BGvOC #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
Northcote City 0-1 Bentleigh Greens
Oakleigh Cannons 1-5 Avondale FC

Form:
BG: LWDDW
OC: LWLLL

Last time they met:
Bentleigh Greens 2-1 Oakleigh Cannons

Bentleigh Greens are faced with a task that is near-impossible. Should South Melbourne beat Northcote City, Bentleigh will have to match South's margin of victory and score an additional 10 goals to that.

Even if the double-figure score-line doesn't come to fruition, Bentleigh will still be desperate to win in order to take good form into their weekend off in the first round of finals.

Oakleigh's league form has deteriorated and the Cannons cannot move out of 11th place. After conceding five goals to Avondale in mid-week, a better defensive performance will be the priority as the team counts down to its Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16 game against Metrostars next month.

Melbourne Knights v Port Melbourne Sharks
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Knights Stadium, Sunshine
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MKvPM #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
Melbourne Knights 2-0 Pascoe Vale
Port Melbourne Sharks 0-2 Green Gully

Form:
MK: DWLWW
PM: WDWLL

Last time they met:
Port Melbourne 1-1 Melbourne Knights

Melbourne Knights are no longer able to finish in the top two but will be aiming for three straight wins as they prepare for an elimination final.

The Knights can still meet either Hume City or Pascoe Vale in the elimination final.

Port Melbourne can still finish anywhere between 8th-10th.

Heidelberg United v Dandenong Thunder
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Olympic Village, Heidelberg West
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HUvDT #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
Heidelberg United 2-2 Green Gully
North Geelong Warriors 3-0 Dandenong Thunder

Form:
HU: WLDLD
DT: LLDWL

Last time they met:
Heidelberg United 6-1 Dandenong Thunder

Mid-week results for Heidelberg United means they are now two points behind Melbourne Knights going into the final day.

With a Westfield FFA Cup match against Sydney United 58 FC to prepare for, there may be some caution this weekend on Heidelberg's part.

Dandenong Thunder's goal difference means that even if they can farewell PS4 NPL Victoria with a win, they are unlikely to climb off the foot of the table.

Hume City v Pascoe Vale
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
ABD Stadium, Broadmeadows Valley Park, Meadow Heights
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #HCvPV #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
South Melbourne 5-2 Hume City
Melbourne Knights 2-0 Pascoe Vale

Form:
HC: WLLWL
PV: WLDDL

Last time they met:
Pascoe Vale 1-0 Hume City

Both teams are finals bound but cannot meet each other in the first week.

Hume's 5-2 midweek defeat was seen as a little misleading by some, with a lethal South Melbourne punishing a wasteful Hume team.

Some gilt-edged misses against South Melbourne means a better showing in front of goal will be a top priority for Hume.

Pascoe Vale is winless in four heading into finals and will need to lift ahead of a sudden-death final against most likely Melbourne Knights, but possibly Heidelberg United.

Green Gully v Avondale FC
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Green Gully Reserve, Keilor Downs
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GGvAFC #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
Heidelberg United 2-2 Green Gully
Oakleigh Cannons 1-5 Avondale FC

Form:
GG: WWDWD
AFC: WWDLW

Last time they met:
Green Gully 4-1 Avondale

Green Gully's form to end the season has a number of clubs in the top six happy that the door to finals is closed.

Gully striker Liam Boland did not score mid-week and has seen South Melbourne's Milos Lujic score four goals in the last two games to all but secure the golden boot.

Boland (15) will need a day out to catch Lujic (19) to be the league's top scorer.

Avondale's mid-week 5-1 win against Oakleigh Cannons went some way to repairing the goal difference damage of a 7-0 loss to South Melbourne at the weekend.

Avondale can still leapfrog Green Gully and claim seventh with a win by at least four goals.

Werribee City v North Geelong Warriors
3:00pm, Sunday August 23, 2015
Galvin Park, Werribee
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #WCvNGW #PS4NPLVIC

Last round:
North Geelong Warriors 3-0 Dandenong Thunder
Oakleigh Cannons 0-1 Werribee City

Form:
NGW: WWLDW
WC: LLLWW

Last time they met:
Werribee City 2-0 North Geelong Warriors

This match will decide which team is automatically relegated by finishing in 13th place, and which team qualify for the promotion-relegation play-off next month.

Werribee's form is back-to-back wins while North Geelong Warriors have taken 10 of a possible 15 points in their last five games.

Both teams enter the match level on 18 points, with North Geelong Warriors (-24 goal difference) able to draw and maintain their ladder position ahead of Werribee City (-28 goal difference).

The team that claims 12th will play against the promotion play-off winner from NPL1.

The NPL1 play-off will pit the second-placed teams from NPL1 East and West against each other, the winner advancing to the promotion-relegation play-off against the 12th-placed finisher in PS4 NPL Victoria.

NPL1 East Round 25
Murray United v Richmond SC
3:00pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga, Wodonga
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MUvRSC #PS4NPLVIC

Springvale White Eagles v Nunawading City
3:00pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
White Eagles Stadium, Keysborough
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #SWEvNUC #PS4NPLVIC

Box Hill United v Eastern Lions
3:15pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
Wembley Park, Box Hill
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BHUvEL #PS4NPLVIC

Goulburn Valley Suns v Dandenong City
6:30pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
John McEwen Reserve, Shepparton
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #GVSvDC #PS4NPLVIC

Kingston City v Melbourne Victory
8:30pm, Monday August 24, 2015
The Grange Reserve, Clayton South
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #KCvMVC #PS4NPLVIC

NPL1 West Round 25
Brunswick City v Moreland Zebras
3:00pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
Dunstan Reserve, Brunswick West
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BCvMZ #PS4NPLVIC

Melbourne City v Ballarat Red Devils
3:00pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
Morshead Park Stadium, Ballarat
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MCYvBRD #PS4NPLVIC

Moreland City v Whittlesea Ranges
3:15pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
Campbell Reserve, Coburg
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #MCvWR #PS4NPLVIC

Bendigo City FC v Sunshine George Cross
4:00pm, Saturday August 22, 2015
Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve, Epsom
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BFCvSGC #PS4NPLVIC

FC Bulleen Lions v St Albans Saints
8:30pm, Monday August 24, 2015
David Barro Stadium, Veneto Club, Bulleen
Twitter: Live updates @nplvictoria, #BLvSAS #PS4NPLVIC

Keep up-to-date with all the NPL Victoria news, video, features and more via the official website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels.