Magilton faces baptism of fire against the Reds

Week 15 of the Hyundai A-League kicks-off with a bang on Friday night with fierce rivals Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory squaring off at AAMI Park in a highly anticipated clash.

The grudge match will be the first glimpse of the Victory under new coach Jim Magilton after the sacking of Mehmet Durakovic earlier this month.

United coach John Kosmina says he’s not focusing on Melbourne’s setup as it may differ completely from last week’s when caretaker Kevin Muscat led the club to victory.

“From our point of view we want to get what we do right and we want to do that well and consistently well and then you can build from there,” Kosmina said.

“I think you can spend too much time worrying about the opposition and what they’re going to do and who they’ve got and sometimes you can do it so much you think you’re playing Barcelona and you’re cactus before you get out there.”

Friday’s derby has added significance as both sides are level on 18 points with the winner able to leapfrog Sydney into equal fourth place on the Hyundai A-League ladder.

Adelaide striker Bruce Djite says the Melbourne Victory game is one of the biggest of the season and is special for both the players and their legion of fans.

“It’s that one game of the season that everyone wants to be a part of,” Djite said.

“We’re going to go out there and give 110 per cent and hopefully come away with all three points.”

United will make just one change to the side that drew 1-1 against Brisbane with Osama Malik replacing Francisco Usucar in the front of the back four.