Preview: Melbourne City vs. Central Coast Mariners - prediction, team news, lineups

The City head into the midweek clash on a run of four consecutive victories over Nick Montgomery's men and will be looking to continue in the same vein.

Match preview

Melbourne City's derby clash against Melbourne Victory two weeks ago was forcefully abandoned due to a bizarre pitch invasion at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Former Burnley midfielder Aiden O'Neill put the City ahead with an 11th-minute strike before a shocking brawl broke out which led to injuries to goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King and several security guards.

Prior to that, Rado Vidosic's men suffered their first defeat of the season in their first outing following the World Cup break as they were beaten 2-1 by Sydney FC on December 10.

With 16 points from seven matches, Melbourne City currently sit top of the Australian A-League table, one point above second-placed Western Sydney Wanderers, albeit with one game in hand.

Elsewhere, Central Coast Mariners picked up successive home victories for the first time this season when they edged out Newcastle Jets 3-0 last Wednesday.

Montgomery's men turn in a superb team display as Marco Tulio, Jason Cummings and Beni Nkololo all found the back of the net at the Central Coast Stadium to hand the Jets their fifth defeat in six matches.

This followed a 2-1 victory over Sydney FC on December 17, when Tulio and Daniel Hall scored quick-fire goals to cancel out Paulo Retre's 11th-minute opener and end their two-game losing streak.

Central Coast Mariners have now picked up four wins, one draw and lost three of their eight matches to collect 13 points and sit fourth in the league standings, three points off Tuesday's hosts.

While the Mariners will be looking to pick up a third consecutive win for the first time since May, standing in their way is a Melbourne City side who have won each of their most recent four meetings and are unbeaten in 17 of their last 20 encounters since February 2012.

Melbourne City Australian A-League form:

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Central Coast Mariners Australian A-League form:

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Team News

Melbourne City will take to the pitch without the services of French international Florin Berenguer, who suffered a severe injury back in August.

Max Caputo has missed the last nine matches after picking up an injury in August's Australian Cup clash with Newcastle Olympic and the youngster is a major doubt for Tuesday's matchup.

With his strike against the Jets, Cummings now has seven goal involvements in his eight league matches this season and the Australian forward will certainly be one to look out for.

Cummings should be joined up front by strike partner Tulio, who has two goals and one assist in his last two matches, while we expect an unchanged back four of Storm Roux, Hall, Brian Kaltack and Jacob Farrell following Wednesday's solid defensive display.

On the injury front, Montgomery will be unable to call upon Brazilian international Matheus Moresche, who has been sidelined since May through a cruciate ligament rupture.

Melbourne City possible starting lineup:

Glover; Bos, Jamieson, Reis, Galloway; Van der Venne, Gomulka; Leckie, Berisha, Nabbout; Maclaren

Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:

Vukovic; Roux, Hall, Kaltack, Farrell; Kuol, Nisbet, Balard, Nkololo; Cummings, Tulio

We say: Melbourne City 2-2 Central Coast Mariners

Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners have enjoyed a solid campaign so far and find themselves in the upper echelons of the table. While Montgomery's men will be looking to maintain their fine run, the City have been near impenetrable on home turf this season. We predict both sides will cancel out each other's efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.

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