United Of Manchester - Alfreton

Australia Cup. Round of 16. NPL's (second-tier league in terms of strength) club South Melbourne hosts last season's A-League Premiership winners Auckland FC. The difference in skill level should be felt, but it may be balanced by the fact that NPL's season is coming to an end while A-League's is just beginning, bringing some surprises. Another factor is that S.Melbourne is in good form since changing coaches and has not lost a long series of matches, so they are expected to provide a challenge and play their own style of attacking football. It will be difficult for them to defend against one of the better teams in Australia. During the break, the visitors did not undergo significant changes, which could work in their favor at this stage of the season. Auckland already defeated another NPL representative 4-0 and the result could have been even bigger. They looked good in attack against their own league club Roar (2-2) in a friendly, so we can expect them to at least score goals in this match. Still, the hosts in good form may be able to score as well.