Fans of local football can look forward to a feast of competitive action in the coming days with Round 16 of the NPL this weekend, followed closely by three midweek Westfield FFA Cup Round 7 matches.

Those three matches will decide which teams make it to the round of 32 nationwide stage of the Westfield FFA Cup, with Green Gully already having booked its place for the first time in the club’s history, after defeating FC Bulleen Lions at home 1-nil last Wedneday evening.

Also on the verge of a first-ever qualification into the nationwide round of 32 is Port Melbourne Sharks. Eric Vassiliadis’ team travels to Knights stadium to take on Melbourne Knights this coming Wednesday evening. There’s little between both sides on paper. They’re neck and neck, equal on points in the league, just outside the top six. Coincidentally, the cup tie on Wednesday precedes their next league encounter just three days later, again at Knights Stadium. With so much at stake in the cup and the league, expect two tense encounters between these two over the next week. The Sharks will be without recently-departed experienced midfielders Alan Mulcahy and Lambros Honos.

The match of the round promises to be Bentleigh Greens hosting South Melbourne in a Round 7 FFA Cup tie on Tuesday evening at Kingston Heath. Like Frazier and Ali, the fierce rivalry between the league’s top two teams of the last two-and-a-half seasons seems to produce monumental encounters. With both sides equally determined to progress to the national stage of the cup, fans can expect another blockbuster.

In the remaining Round 7 FFA Cup tie, Hume City hosts Richmond SC this Wednesday, after Richmond knocked out Kingston City 3-1 in a midweek match. In NPL 1 action today, Northcote City hosts Melbourne Knights. City will be trying to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to South Melbourne last Sunday when a City old boy Milos Lujic sunk his former club with a hat-trick. City could do with a few goal-scorers of their own and to this end, coach Lozanovski has signed two former teammates, James Papadimitriou and Danny Charalambous. It’s a reunion for the two forwards, who formed a productive strike partnership for the Moreland Zebras in 2015 before Charalambous departed for Bentleigh Greens in the 2016 pre-season. However, a lack of game time at Kingston Heath has prompted him to switch to John Cain Reserve, where coach Lozanovski hopes the two can again form a productive partnership.

In NPL 2 E action, Brunswick City faces a tough challenge when it hosts second-placed Moreland Zebras on Saturday. Last week, the Zebras scored a strong home win against fourth-placed Box Hill United. United will have the chance to bounce back after consecutive losses when it hosts eighth-placed Werribee City. Later that evening, second- placed Kingston City, which can now turn its full attention to the league, hosts seventh-placed Moreland City.
The State Leagues reach the halfway mark of the season after this weekend’s Round 11. In NW 1, 11th-placed Altona East Phoenix has the opportunity to leapfrog 10th-placed Cairnlea FC when the two meet at Cairnlea.

Last week, Yarraville SC leapfrogged Western Suburbs with a crushing 4-1 home win thanks to goals from Keith Dunne, Goran Jozeljic and an Ashley Lymn brace. This week Yarraville faces a tougher task when it travels to Sydenham Park SC, while Western Suburbs also faces a tough task at home on Sunday hosting second-placed Preston Lions.

In State League SE 1, Malvern City has the chance to bounce back from a couple of recent defeats when it hosts unbeaten league leader Mornington. South Springvale will hope to continue its good form when it travels to Frankston Pines. Last week, Nick Galas scored a goal for the ages when he volleyed home a cross to stun Casey Comets and inspire Souths to a 3-nil home win.

Meanwhile fifth-placed FC Clifton Hill will be aiming for a third win in a row when it visits third-placed Manningham United.