Melbourne City chasing back-to-back wins in home match against Macarthur FC

With Marco Tilio in good form, Melbourne City take plenty of confidence into Friday night’s A-League clash against Macarthur FC.

Melbourne City can put a severe dent in Macarthur FC’s A-League finals hopes with a win over the Bulls at AAMI Park on Friday night.

The sliding Bulls are currently five points outside the top six, and depending on other results this weekend, a loss to City could result in them being as many as eight points adrift of sixth place come Sunday night.

In contrast, fifth-placed City could end up as high as second by the end of weekend with a win on Friday night and favourable results from the round’s other four matches.

“All we can do is prepare well and come into the game with the right mentality and the right attitude,” City coach Aurelio Vidmar said.

“That always will give us the best chance at getting a good result.”

𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙙 😤

🗣️ Aurelio Vidmar has this morning confirmed that Yonatan Cohen is set to return from injury tomorrow.

Full Team News coming later today 📰

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— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) March 5, 2025

Despite the Bulls having lost three of their past four games, Vidmar – whose side is chasing a back-to-back wins and a third victory in four matches – won’t underestimate Friday’s visitors.

“They’ve still got a very deep squad. Guys that have come in have done well, and they’ve got a lot of handy players around the park,” Vidmar said.

“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t beaten them in three attempts, so that’s something that we’re looking to reverse.”

Set to help City’s cause is the form of fit-again winger Marco Tilio, who has scored goals in back-to-back games as he returns to his best after a long-term hamstring injury.

“He’s worked hard, he’s put himself in a good position and he’s an explosive player,” Vidmar said.

“We’ve all seen what he can do over the last couple of weeks. He still has a lot of upside, so hopefully, touch wood, he remains healthy because he’s going to be very, very valuable for us.”

Tilio, who is on loan to City from Scottish giants Celtic, said “consistent” game time was his priority.

“It has been three games in a row now that I’ve been able to start, and I pulled through not too bad,” the Socceroo said.

“I just want to continue in this way, stay fit and healthy, and hopefully have a good rest of the season.”

Originally published as Melbourne City chasing back-to-back wins in home match against Macarthur FC