Still undefeated after four matches in a very tight group, with two wins and two draws, Avondale approach the match as firm favourites. However, Spirit are only three points behind, and if the Azzurri fail to take all three points the group will be destined for a very complicated—albeit exciting—final round.

Avondale midfielder Luca Tevere says the carrot at the end of this week’s stick hasn’t been too much of a distraction for the team.

“It’s been a minor discussion throughout the week, but we don’t look at it too much,” he said. “We just try to do our best every week.

“Obviously, we know what the reward will be if we win this week, but we’ve still got a job to do on Sunday and we’ll do our best to maximise our output.”

A boost for the Melbourne club will be the return of centre-back Matthew Reid, who was out last week after his sending off against Preston in Round 3.

“He’s a very important player [and] a great leader in our squad,” said Tevere. “But we’ve got a lot of squad depth in our team, so no matter who comes in, they do a job just like Massimo [D’Argenio] did last week—he put in a great shift.

“But obviously it’s great to have Reidy back as well.”

Tevere believes his team will be better prepared for a NWS Spirit side he says surprised them in their first encounter—a thrilling 3-3 draw that saw Avondale give up a two-goal lead.

“They play a different formation [to what we were expecting before the tournament], so we’ve got to know how to defend in a strong block, because we got exposed a bit last time we played them,” he said.

“They played with three at the back, so [this time] we’ll probably have to adjust our press a little bit and hopefully we can stop them from getting into good pockets.

“We just want to make sure this time, if we go ahead, that we secure our lead and we keep our focus until the end of the game.”

Tevere says he’s looking forward to playing at Avenger Park for the first time since Round 1.

“It’s good to be on home turf,” he shared. “Obviously, we’ll have our fans backing us which will be great.

“It’s great to have our supporters watch us. It’s been a long season—everyone’s been going for 50 weeks [with] the NPL season and the Australia Cup and now the Championship—so whatever support we can get from the Avondale fans will be great.”