{"id":325012,"date":"2025-04-11T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=325012"},"modified":"2025-04-11T14:30:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T02:30:11","slug":"isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Isuzu UTE A-League Round 26 Match Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Another chapter will be written in the burgeoning rivalry between the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium on Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019ll be the eighth meeting between the two sides over the past two seasons with the honours even at two wins a piece, with the other three contests finishing in draws.<br><br>Saturday\u2019s match may also decide this season\u2019s series. The Phoenix won the first meeting 1-0 in Sydney in November before Victory won 1-0 at AAAMI Park in February.<br><br>Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano is expecting another hard-fought match with Victory.<br><br>\u201cI look forward to playing these games especially when there\u2019s not much between the teams,\u201d Italiano told media before training on Friday. \u201cI enjoy those coaching battles.<br><br>\u201cI think it\u2019ll be no different to the game we played at AAMI Park. As much as we didn\u2019t create in that game I thought that was a really even game up until when they scored, and it was something we could have prevented.<br><br>\u201cVictory are built on quick transitions with some really, really good players and that\u2019s something that we need to be aware of tomorrow.<br><br>\u201cWe have a nice rivalry and it\u2019ll be no different tomorrow. The boys are up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pre-Match Press Conference | Giancarlo &#039;Chief&#039; Italiano (Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kUkom8eOiUY?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s Victory\u2019s first visit to Wellington since last year\u2019s epic semi-final second leg at Sky Stadium, which was decided in extra time.<br><br>It&#8217;s a match that doesn\u2019t occupy Italiano\u2019s thoughts.<br><br>\u201cI often don\u2019t reflect back on what\u2019s happened. That\u2019s something that I\u2019ll do when I\u2019m no longer here and I have a lot of time on my hands.<br><br>\u201cThey were great moments for the club and something that I want to replicate again.<br><br>\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be part of and it was nice to create history for Wellington fans to come out and see that. It\u2019s just a shame we just couldn\u2019t go to that last step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"325014\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/a-league-men-semi-final-leg-2-wellington-phoenix-v-melbourne-victory-18\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"5400,3600\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Getty Images&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS R3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - MAY 18: Victory players celebrate the win during the A-League Men Semi Final match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium, on May 18, 2024, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\\\/Getty Images)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1716066624&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2024 Getty Images&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;A-League Men Semi Final Leg 2 - Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A-League Men Semi Final Leg 2 &#8211; Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND &#8211; MAY 18: Victory players celebrate the win during the A-League Men Semi Final match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium, on May 18, 2024, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?w=1200\" height=\"800\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-325014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg 5400w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2153500506.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND &#8211; MAY 18: Victory players celebrate the win during the A-League Men Semi Final match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium, on May 18, 2024, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Victory have changed their head coach a couple of times since the semi-final with Arthur Diles now in charge.<br><br>Italiano has noticed a few changes in the way they play.<br><br>\u201cThey\u2019re a little bit more fluid at the front. There\u2019s a little bit less structure to their attacking players which makes them more dangerous.<br><br>\u201cI probably put them in the same boat as Western United with unpredictability. And Wanderers as well.<br><br>\u201cThey\u2019ll be tough to play. It\u2019s not easy taking over mid-season and trying to implement a style at the same time. It\u2019s very difficult so he\u2019s done well so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"325020\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/a-league-men-rd-5-wellington-phoenix-v-melbourne-victory-7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3231,2155\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Getty Images&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS R3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 24:  Scott Wootton (L) and Isaac Hughes (R) of the Phoenix celebrate victory at full-time during the round five A-League Men match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium, on November 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King\\\/Getty Images)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1732461815&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2024 Getty Images&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;A-League Men Rd 5 - Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A-League Men Rd 5 &#8211; Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; NOVEMBER 24:  Scott Wootton (L) and Isaac Hughes (R) of the Phoenix celebrate victory at full-time during the round five A-League Men match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium, on November 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King\/Getty Images)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?w=1200\" height=\"800\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-325020\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg 3231w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186576907.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; NOVEMBER 24:  Scott Wootton (L) and Isaac Hughes (R) of the Phoenix celebrate victory at full-time during the round five A-League Men match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium, on November 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nix are unbeaten in their last three matches, with draws against Sydney and Western Sydney before Sunday\u2019s win over Newcastle Jets, and Italiano is happy with the progress the team is making.<br><br>\u201cThe intention is always there regardless of whether we\u2019re winning or losing. I always want to win every game and perform well.<br><br>\u201cLast week the performance in the second half wasn\u2019t where I wanted it to be.<br><br>\u201cI was happy with the outcome, but I want to build this week on what we did against Wanderers and against Sydney.<br><br>\u201cI want it to be 70\/80 minutes of consistent football and something that people enjoy to watch. That\u2019s from now until the last game of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"324979\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-25-match-review-3\/a-league-men-rd-25-newcastle-jets-v-wellington-phoenix-8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"4603,3068\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Getty Images&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS R1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 06: Konstantinos Barbarouses of the Phoenix celebrates a goal with teammate during the round 25 A-League Men match between Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium, on April 06, 2025, in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Scott Gardiner\\\/Getty Images)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1743960851&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2025 Getty Images&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;4000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;A-League Men Rd 25 - Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A-League Men Rd 25 &#8211; Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA &#8211; APRIL 06: Konstantinos Barbarouses of the Phoenix celebrates a goal with teammate during the round 25 A-League Men match between Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium, on April 06, 2025, in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Scott Gardiner\/Getty Images)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?w=1200\" height=\"800\" width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-324979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg 4603w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208771129.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA &#8211; APRIL 06: Konstantinos Barbarouses of the Phoenix celebrates a goal with teammate during the round 25 A-League Men match between Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium, on April 06, 2025, in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Scott Gardiner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The win over Newcastle has put Wellington just two points adrift of ninth place and the team has extra motivation to move out of the bottom four.<br><br>\u201cHughesy (Isaac Hughes) mentioned it yesterday that the boys don\u2019t want to go to Darwin for the Australia Cup playoff and I think that\u2019s a good incentive.<br><br>\u201cOnce the season ends in May I think a lot of those boys need a hard-earned break, especially the senior boys that haven\u2019t really stopped since the Nations Cup.<br><br>\u201cAnd I think also at the back of the minds of a lot of those Kiwi boys is that they want to impress the national team coach in order to make a case to go to the World Cup, so motivation is there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"325017\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/25-03-28-alm-training-27\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2200,3299\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS R6m2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1743113579&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;165&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"25-03-28 ALM Training-27\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?w=200\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?w=1200\" height=\"1799\" width=\"1200\" data-id=\"325017\" src=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-325017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg 2200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?resize=768,1152 768w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?resize=1200,1799 1200w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?resize=1024,1536 1024w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-27.jpg?resize=1366,2048 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Scott Wootton in training at NZCIS. Photo: Cam McIntosh\/Photomac.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1045\" height=\"1306\" data-attachment-id=\"325016\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/25-03-28-alm-training-45\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1045,1306\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS R6m2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1743114579&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"25-03-28 ALM Training-45\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg?w=240\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg?w=1045\" data-id=\"325016\" src=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-325016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg 1045w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/25-03-28-ALM-Training-45.jpg?resize=768,960 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1045px) 100vw, 1045px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Giancarlo Italiano talks to Lukas Kelly-Heald during a training session at NZCIS. Photo: Cam McIntosh\/Photomac.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Giancarlo Italiano has a settled squad to pick from with only Stefan Colakovski, Chico Geraldes and Alby Kelly-Heald, who are sidelined with season-ending injuries, unavailable for selection.<br><br>\u201cI think there are no injuries, which is a big surprise!<br><br>\u201cUsually we have one or two players in every week.<br><br>\u201c[Alex] Rufer has been off feet a little bit just to manage his knee but I think we\u2019ll be very close to the same squad and the same team.\u201d<br><br>The round 26 Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory is scheduled to kick-off at Sky Stadium at 5pm Saturday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 5 in New Zealand and on Paramount+ in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"match-card-embed-root\" class=\"match-card-embed block-match-card-embed block_f621bdd83820bf26f415de2c8f23b475\" data-competition=\"xwnjb1az11zffwty3m6vn8y6\" data-club=\"6j4xzc2g1eeafo6v1f38d4x22\" data-match=\"buprdbbtkpm9yxjyn35i2dxqs\" data-position=\"12\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Most recent meeting:<\/strong> 14 February 2025 \u2013 Melbourne Victory 1 Wellington Phoenix 0<br><br><strong>All-time A-League head-to-head:<\/strong> Phoenix 13W, Victory 26W &amp; 14D.<strong><br><br>Wellington Phoenix squad <\/strong><em>(two to be omitted)<\/em><strong>: <\/strong>1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk),3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 19. Sam SUTTON, 23. Luke SUPYK, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 35. Dublin BOON (gk), 39. Jayden SMITH, 41. Nathan WALKER.<strong><br>Unavailable:<\/strong> 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI (injured), 12. Chico GERALDES (injured), 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk) (injured).<br><br><strong>Melbourne Victory squad <\/strong><em>(two to be omitted)<\/em><strong>:<\/strong> 1. Mitch LANGERAK (gk), 3. Adama TRAORE, 4. Lachlan JACKSON, 5. Brendan HAMILL, 6. Ryan TEAGUE, 7. Daniel ARZANI, 8. Zinedine MACHACH, 9. Nikolaos VERGOS, 10. Bruno FORNAROLI, 14. Jordi VALADON, 16. Joshua INSERRA, 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18. Fabian MONGE, 19. Jing REEC, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (c), 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 23. Alexander BADOLATO, 25. Jack DUNCAN (gk), 27. Reno PISCOPO, 28. Kasey BOS.<br><strong>Unavailable:\u00a0<\/strong>Nil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":325015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,330,338,356,343],"tags":[],"competition":[],"acf":{"match_card_embed_league":5080,"match_card_embed_club":null,"match_card_embed_match":"321864","match_card_embed_disable":false,"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_article":null,"article_featured_video":"","article_featured_video_tagline":"","article_byline":"","article_media_type":"news","article_video":"","gallery":"","shared_ffa_source":"keepup","shared_hide_in_app":false,"article_player":"","article_team":"","article_competition":"","article_match":"","credit":"","related_articles":"","push_to_social":false,"priority":1,"sport":false,"language":"en","private_content":false,"access_level":"","article_id":"","app_featured_image":null,"article_content_group":"news"},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Isuzu UTE A-League Round 26 Match Preview","url":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg"},"articleSection":"Breaking News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"brenton"}],"creator":["brenton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wellington Phoenix","logo":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/04\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z","datePublished":"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z","dateModified":"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Isuzu UTE A-League Round 26 Match Preview\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/wellingtonphoenix.com\\\/news\\\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/wellingtonphoenix.com\\\/news\\\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wellingtonphoenix.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/11\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wellingtonphoenix.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/11\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"Breaking News\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"brenton\"}],\"creator\":[\"brenton\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Wellington Phoenix\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wellingtonphoenix.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/11\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png\"},\"keywords\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-11T05:00:00Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg?w=1080&h=1080&quality=75","image":{"sizes":{"full":{"url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"caption":"SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 24:  Konstantinos Barbarouses of the Phoenix \\cduring the round five A-League Men match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium, on November 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King\/Getty Images)"},"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2186571573.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","width":"150","height":"150","caption":"SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 24:  Konstantinos Barbarouses of the Phoenix \\cduring the round five A-League Men match between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium, on November 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King\/Getty Images)"}}},"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_id":null,"time_ago":"3 months ago","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Wellington Phoenix","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com","push-errors":false,"frontend_link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/isuzu-ute-a-league-round-26-match-preview-3\/","article_id":325012,"byline":null,"article_source":null,"credit":null,"sport":null,"source_path":null,"categories_string":["Breaking News","Club News","Match Preview","Men's News","News"],"player":null,"team":null,"match":null,"competition_data":null,"hide_in_app":false,"media_type":"news","lang":"en","social_share":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325022,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325012\/revisions\/325022"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition\/5080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325012"},{"taxonomy":"competition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition?post=325012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}