Melbourne City has finalised our extended squad for Saturday night’s Isuzu UTE A-League home opener at AAMI Park against Perth Glory.
Aurelio Vidmar’s side will enter the clash full of confidence following a dramatic come-from-behind win in the AFC Champions League Elite on Tuesday night, with late goals from Elbasan Rashani and Max Caputo sealing City’s first three points of the continental campaign.
While the midweek victory provided plenty of positives, it wasn’t without its setbacks, with a pair of defenders sidelined following the win.
Samuel Souprayen is set to miss the next few weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury, while Harry Shillington will be unavailable on Saturday due to concussion.
In better news, four Academy graduates have been promoted into City’s extended 20-player squad for the weekend’s fixture.
Ben Mazzeo, Jayden Necovski, Peter Antoniou and Besian Kutleshi have all been included, highlighting the continued strength of City’s youth development pathway.
Mazzeo featured off the bench in Tuesday’s win over Buriram United, playing a key role in the build-up to the decisive goal, while the trio of Necovski, Antoniou and Kutleshi will all be looking to push for inclusion in Vidmar’s final 18-player matchday selection.
Round 2 ALM Squad
1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 4. Liam BONETIG, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 17. Max CAPUTO, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 27. Kai TREWIN, 30. Andreas KUEN, 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 38. Beckham BAKER, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI.
In: 20. Ben MAZZEO, 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 44. Besian KUTLESHI (all promoted).
Out: 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN (hamstring), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON (concussion).
Unavailable: 15. Andrew NABBOUT (ACL), 21. Alessandro LOPANE (ankle), 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN (hamstring), 35. Medin MEMETI (hamstring), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON (concussion), 40. James NIEUWENHUIZEN (ACL), 41. Lawrence WONG (MCL).
