Five Melbourne A-League derby factors

HERE ARE FIVE FACTORS WHICH MIGHT DECIDE THE A-LEAGUE'S MELBOURNE DERBY:

* 1. Form. Melbourne City have swatted away Central Coast, Perth and Newcastle by four-goal margins in their past three outings, while Melbourne Victory have lost their past three without scoring

* 2. Weather. The forecast for a windy day with temperatures above 40 degrees makes it harder for Kevin Muscat's side. Victory arrived back in Melbourne from Perth on Thursday afternoon while City have put their feet up in Melbourne all week

* 3. Aaron Mooy. The absence of Carl Valeri hurts Victory, with Oliver Bozanic needing to play a more-defensive role alongside young midfielder Rashid Mahazi to contain City's Socceroo star

* 4. Besart Berisha. The Albanian has a better goals-to-game ratio against City than any other A-League opponent in his time with Victory. That includes goals in this season's 3-2 win, their 3-0 semi-final triumph and a hat-trick on his derby debut

* 5. Class. City coach John van 't Schip says Victory's pedigree hasn't disappeared overnight and he's right. The champions have pride on the line on Saturday night and have shown themselves to be a side for the grand occasions