Melbourne Victory vs Auckland FC Prediction and Betting Tips | October 17th 2025

Melbourne Victory will host Auckland FC at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Friday in the opening round of the 2025-26 Australia A-League campaign. The home side enjoyed a strong campaign last season but once again fell short in the playoffs as they lost 1-0 to rivals Melbourne City in the final, as their wait for a fifth A-League Championship title continues.

They returned to competitive action in July but did so in disappointing fashion as they lost 4-3 to second-tier Olympic Kingsway in the round of 32 of the Australia Cup and will hope to get off to a flyer in their league opener this weekend.

Auckland FC, meanwhile, had a memorable debut campaign in the Australian top flight last season as they finished atop the regular season standings to become the first New Zealand-based club to win the A-League Premiership.

However, they crashed out of the playoffs in the semifinals, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Victory, and will be looking to exact some form of revenge when the two teams meet again on Friday.

Melbourne Victory vs Auckland FC Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Friday's game will mark the fifth meeting between Victory and Auckland. The hosts have won one of their previous matchups, while the visitors have won twice, with their final matchup ending in a draw.
• Auckland conceded 29 goals in the Australian A-League campaign last season. Only Melbourne City (26).
• The visitors picked up a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar in their league opener last season, while Victory played out a goalless draw with Central Coast Mariners.
• The hosts have managed just one clean sheet in their last six competitive games at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Melbourne Victory vs Auckland FC Prediction

Big V have lost three of their last four competitive outings and will be keen to kick off the new season with a win. They are slight favorites heading into the weekend clash, largely due to their home advantage, and will rely heavily on that to secure maximum points on Friday.

The Black Knights' latest result ended a three-game winning streak, and they will now be looking to bounce back here. They performed well on the road last season and should have more than enough to clinch a point here.

Prediction: Melbourne Victory 1-1 Auckland FC

Melbourne Victory vs Auckland Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: Draw

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Each of the previous four matches between the two teams has produced fewer than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES

Edited by Peter P