Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick.

A-League © A-League

Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick is still awaiting news on the international clearance of Alessandro and the fitness of Archie Thompson before confirming his squad to take on the Central Coast Mariners when Hyundai A-League football returns to Melbourne tomorrow (kick-off 3:00pm).

Victory face the Mariners at Olympic Park in round three of the 2006 Pre-Season Cup and will be looking for their first win of the tournament in front of a passionate home crowd.

Thompson remains a 50-50 chance of lining up as he manages a slight groin strain, while Brazilian recruit, Alessandro, is still hopeful that his clearance problems will be resolved in time for tomorrow’s match.

Merrick is expected to finalise his squad tomorrow morning.

Steve Pantelidis is expected to come back into the side after serving a one match suspension, replacing the injured Mark Byrnes who is recovering from a back related hamstring strain he received last weekend.

Kristian Sarkies also returns to the side after missing last week’s match against Perth Glory due to a virus, while Simon Storey will remain on stand-by for either Thompson or Alessandro.

Central Coast remains the only Hyundai A-League team that Victory has not taken points off at Olympic Park. They are also the only team in the entire Hyundai A-League to have inflicted defeat on Melbourne by more than a solitary goal.

In their most recent clash, Melbourne defeated the Mariners in last month’s QNI North Queensland Trophy on their way to winning the tournament 6-1 in the final against Chinese Super League team, Changchun Yatai FC.

Central Coast have also been bolstered by the return of three key players, with Stewart Petrie, Andrew Clark and Matthew Osman all returning to the side which only managed a nil-all draw against Adelaide last weekend in Orange.

Tickets will be available tomorrow at the gate. All Melbourne Victory members receive free admission. Non-member adult tickets are $10, concession $5 and children under 13 are free.

Memberships for the 2006/07 Hyundai A-League will be available at Olympic Park. Fans are reminded that all seating for this match will be general admission. Gates will open at 1:00pm.

melbournevictory.com.au will be providing a live text commentary of the match starting from 3:00pm.

Melbourne Victory squad for Pre-Season Cup Round 3 vs. Central Coast Mariners:
Michael Theoklitos, Eugene Galekovic, Kevin Muscat, Steve Pantelidis, Fred, Daniel Allsopp, Vince Lia, Kristian Sarkies, Rodrigo Vargas, Adrian Caceres, Adrian Leijer, Grant Brebner, Claudinho, Archie Thompson (pending fitness), Alessandro (pending clearance), Simon Storey (on stand-by).