Billed as a ‘grudge match’, Juan Mata will start for Melbourne Victory against Auckland FC, with the Spanish star ahead of schedule in his preparations for the new A-League season.

Melbourne

Melbourne Victory are preparing to open their A-League season against Auckland, following last year's grand final loss to Melbourne City. The team has made several squad changes, including the signing of Juan Mata, a highly decorated midfielder with experience at top European clubs and a World Cup win.

Mata, who joined from Western Sydney, is expected to play a more prominent role this season, particularly in the number 10 position. Victory are focused on securing three points in their opening match as they look to move past last season's disappointment and start the new campaign strongly.

Melbourne Victory seek strong A-League start against Auckland FC

Yes, Melbourne Victory certainly have the bragging rights. Eric Partaloo joins me to preview this one. Eric, Melbourne Victory made the grand final last year, knocking Auckland out in the semi-final, but they'll still be hurting Victory because they lost in the grand final derby against Melbourne City, of course. Yeah, right here as well, Zappers, on their home turf. So they want to get off to a great start with three points tonight against Auckland. There's been a few changes in their squad. There's a few missing already from round one, and Arthur Dillis has to get off to a good start. He does indeed, and one big signing they've made in the off-season is Juan Mata. He's won just about everything there is to win in world football. He's won a World Cup, he played at Chelsea, he played at Manchester United, and he still finds that motivation. One thing he said he still hasn't won is an A-League championship. He was at Western Sydney last year, was used sparingly. Will Victory use him more this year? We haven't seen enough of him. I'm excited to see how he's used in this squad, how he's used further in the season in that number 10 role. I hope he scores goals, hope he puts assists in there. Alright, we're looking forward to it. It should be a grudge match. Auckland have got a point to prove. You can catch all the action right here on Network 10 tonight from 7 o'clock.

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Portland

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Washington

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

Middle East Conflict

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Windsor

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Ukraine Invasion

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Caracas

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Kipnuk

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President Trump commutes George Santos' sentence

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Greenbelt

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London

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Trump set to meet with Zelenskyy

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Lima

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Šiauliai

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New York

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Beijing

Global Tariffs

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Jerusalem

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Nairobi

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Balochistan

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Chicago

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Breakdown