Three days after locking horns in their Round 18 catch up match, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory are doing it all again for the Ange Postecoglou Cup. (There actually is no such trophy, but these are the only two A-League clubs the Socceroos boss has coached). The Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday was poor. Let's hope they have done something to improve it in the meantime.
Why you should watch it
Victory is the best team in the competition on its day. When the passes are finding their mark and the shots are on target, it is a glorious sight. When the team is scrappy it's still interesting to watch, to see if it can fight its way back to the level it knows it should be at.
Now that Perth Glory has put its hands up and accepted its punishment for cheating the salary cap, seventh-placed Brisbane is definitely in the finals.
It would no doubt still like to get there on merit, but unless it can overhaul a four-point gap to Melbourne City in the last two rounds, it will go in as the A-League equivalent of a "lucky loser".
What happened last time they played
We could hardly forget, could we? It was only a few days ago! The catch-up game saw Victory get out to a 2-0 lead by midway through the first half, with the threat of more, only for Brisbane to hang on until halftime and then stage a second-half revival.
Matt McKay's 51st-minute goal for Roar made life a bit uncomfortable for Victory, but on a pitch that left a lot to be desired the visiting side successfully negotiated the final 40-odd minutes to win 2-1.
Key battles
Victory attacker Kosta Barbarouses wasn't at his best on Wednesday, but it was his first starting game since a recent comeback from injury and a player whose game is so precise needs a bit of time to get back into gear.
Look for Barbarouses, attacking down the right, to give Roar left-back Corey Brown a much more torrid time in this game.
Victory central defenders Matthieu Delpierre and Nick Ansell closed down Roar central striker Andrija Kaluderovic on Wednesday.
Kaluderovic is going to simply have to try harder to peel away from whichever of the pair is on him and get some space. Plus, his co-attackers need to do more to present themselves in dangerous positions and force Delpierre and Ansell into more difficult decisions about who to take.
Why Roar will win
There is no science behind this reason, but it is amazing how often it happens - in all football codes. Whenever two teams play each other twice in quick succession, you often get two opposite results. Victory won on Wednesday - now it's Roar's turn.
Roar will take confidence from having fought its way back into the game after Victory led 2-0. The home side will also benefit from the return of two key defenders - Jade North and Jerome Polenz - from injury for this match.
Why Victory will win
It has got a huge amount to play for, with the Premier's Plate beckoning. Home-ground advantage throughout the finals series is a huge attraction - as long as you've got somewhere to play the grand final if you make it. Victory currently has a problem with an AFL booking for Etihad Stadium.
Gui Finkler is back from injury for this match. Victory managed to win without him on Wednesday, but you wouldn't want to have to do without the gifted playmaker for too long because his absence would surely bite you on the backside eventually.
What the players are saying
Victory captain Mark Millligan said the plan now was to forget Wednesday's result and treat Saturday's match as a whole new ball-game.
"We started well in the first-half. I think we got that intensity back that we'd been lacking from the Newcastle game," Milligan said. "We'll have a look at that match, but although it's the same team it's a different match on Saturday."
Now Roar is definitely in the finals, the players owe it to themselves to arrive in style. Skipper Matt McKay is driving them to finish strongly.
"We were always going for the win on Wednesday - it was like a preview of the finals for us," McKay said. "It was a disappointing result for us, but we've got two fixtures left to try to get six points and we're going for six points."
What the coaches are saying
Brisbane's Frans Thijssen has made it clear his team has to play it the other way around this time. Victory is the last team you can afford to give a head-start.
"I wasn't happy with the first half (on Wednesday) and in the second half, yeah, they reacted well and played a lot better," he said. "When you go 2-0 down and you score a goal, you're back in the game, but we couldn't really finish it off and get something out of it and that was disappointing."
Victory's Kevin Muscat has warned his players about the dangers of taking the foot off the pedal on Saturday, which is understandable considering Wednesday's win over Roar was preceded by a home loss to Newcastle Jets in arguably the biggest upset of the season.
"There's still a hell of a lot of work to do," he said. "And we don't have to look too far as well - last week, for example. If you're not at your best, any team in the comp can beat you - that's the evenness of the competition."
The villain
Mark Milligan. The Victory and Socceroo star knows how to rub opposition fans the wrong way, whether it be via a slightly late or over-vigorous tackle, or by arguing way too much with the referee after a decision goes against him. One senses he enjoys the notoriety.
The hero
Young Brisbane striker Brandon Borello was a late withdrawal from Wednesday's game with a knee injury, which was a blow not only to the team but Roar fans who are excited about both his and fellow youngster Devante Clut's potential.
Borrello has been named in the squad for this game and if he could come up with the winning goal against the team that stole Besart Berisha away from Brisbane, the fans would love it.
The match in numbers
These two teams have met 30 times, with the spoils fairly evenly divided. Victory has won 13 times and Roar 11, with six games drawn.
Roar has a slight advantage in the 15 games in Brisbane, with seven wins to Victory's six. Two have been drawn.
The last 10 overall clashes have seen five Brisbane wins, three Victory wins and two draws. Victory has won each of this season's two clashes.
The last five games in Brisbane have resulted in three Roar wins, one Victory win - on Wednesday - and one draw.
The verdict
I've got a feeling Roar isn't going to lose this match. It wasn't at the races in the first half on Wednesday and paid the price, so surely it will be pumped up to start better this time. The players know they are in the finals now - they will want to prove they are of finals quality.
Jade North and Jerome Polenz back for Roar is a big boost to a defence that struggled early on in Wednesday's game. I'm tipping an action-packed game that might swing back and forth on the scoreboard, but finish in a 2-all or 3-all draw.
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