Adelaide United are bracing for a fierce response from a humiliated Melbourne Victory in the looming clash of the bitter A-League rivals, Reds winger Craig Goodwin says.
Victory are reeling from a horror 6-0 loss to Melbourne City last Saturday night and remain anchored in last spot.
In contrast, the fourth-placed Reds have won three in a row, with Goodwin scoring twice in his two games since returning from Saudi Arabia.
"Obviously I'm really happy with how things have gone for the first two games, scoring two goals," Goodwin told reporters on Tuesday.
"Now the attention is to the Melbourne Victory game ... the fact that they haven't been as good as what they usually are, we can't take that into consideration."
Goodwin said Victory players would be hell-bent on responding to their latest defeat when the Reds meet them at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
"When you come off of a 6-0 loss, you're wanting a reaction," he said.
"And you take it personally if you have a result like that, so you want to put yourself about and that is what they will be trying to do.
"I have seen a few of their games but I can't really put a finger on it as to why they're in the situation they're in.
"(But) ... it's a chance for us to beat Victory on their home turf.
"And it's the biggest game on the calendar for us and it's the one that we want to win and it's the one the Adelaide fans want to win."
The resurgent Reds will be without 16-year-old attacker Mohamed Toure, who was having scans on Tuesday on a torn hamstring.
But frontman Tomi Juric is likely to return from a groin injury which has sidelined him from the past two matches.
Australian Associated Press
