Key duo in doubt for Victory

Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has key selection concerns ahead of his side’s A-League clash with Newcastle.

Ola Toivonen (centre) of Melbourne Victory during a team training session at Gosch's Paddock in Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: AAP

Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has key selection concerns ahead of his side’s A-League clash with Newcastle, with Ola Toivonen and Elvis Kamsoba in doubt.

Muscat said on Friday that Toivonen has been laid low through illness, while Kamsoba requires scans after reporting knee pain during the club’s final training session ahead of Saturday night’s Kardinia Park encounter. Victory will already be without defender Georg Niedermeier, who was red-carded in last week’s 1-1 draw with Melbourne City, and skipper Carl Valeri, who continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Toivonen has been a revelation in his first A-League campaign, the towering Swedish striker scoring 10 goals in 13 appearances.

He was a second-half substitute against City after recovering from a knock at training that sidelined him for three weeks and had an immediate impact as 10-man Victory hung on to claim a point.

“Ola has been ill over the last couple of days, so the doctors will monitor that and make a decision,” Muscat said.

“It’s just a bit of a stomach illness.

“There is a chance (he could miss) … it depends how he pulls up.” Kamsoba appears unlikely to feature against the Jets after limping out of Friday’s training session at Gosch’s Paddock.

“It wasn’t a knock, he was on his own and he felt a little bit of pain in his knee,” Muscat said.

“He’ll be receiving scans and it will be in the hands of the physios.” The match is a pivotal one for both clubs for different reasons. With seven rounds left in the regular season, third-placed Victory can still reel in Perth Glory at the top of the table, while Newcastle are fighting for a finals berth five points behind sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix. The Jets will need to break a run of three losses to the Victory, which began with last season’s contentious defeat in the grand final.

“The reality is that Newcastle are chasing a finals spot,” Muscat said. “Based on that you would assume they are in a certain mindset. “But we’ll concentrate on ourselves … all the work this week has been on us and how to perform well.

” … The grand final is well and truly gone for me … it was gone by the first game.” Midfielder James Troisi will make his 100th A-League appearance for Victory.

Meanwhile, life doesn’t get any easier for embattled Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce, who must find a way to blunt the attacking might of the Glory without three defensive mainstays.

Ritchie de Laet and Bart Schenkeveld are suspended while a hamstring injury will keep Harrison Delbridge out of Sunday’s clash at AAMI Park.

Joyce has come under fire as City have struggled in the lead up to the finals with one win from their past eight matches, leaving them in fifth spot. The defensive trio’s absence couldn’t have come at a worse time for City, with Glory leading the goalscoring charts with 43 strikes, but Joyce said he wasn’t bemoaning his luck.

“(Our defence) has done well this season, but it gives other lads opportunities,” Joyce said on Friday.

“It’s a game that everyone wants to play in, everyone’s up for it.

“It’s an opportunity for other players to show what they’re worth and they’re relishing the challenge.”

Joyce has also worn criticism for his management of fan favourite Bruno Fornaroli, who departed the club this week after being frozen out by the coach. But in looking for a replacement for the Uruguayan, Joyce must be given credit for signing Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren, who has scored in each of his first three appearances.

Even with the former Hibernian marksman in fine form, Joyce will be keen to avoid a shootout with the Glory.

“They have not just one goal threat, but a series of goal threats,” he said. “There are five or six people who have scored goals for them this season. “I don’t think the table lies in football … they’ve done well this season. “The games that we’ve played against them have been even … I think we’ve certainly created openings against them in both games.”

AAP