Melbourne Victory skipper Carl Valeri gunning for second A-League title 12 months after brain injury.

Besart Berisha struck his 100th career A-League goal and gave a hitherto toothless Melbourne Victory a 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners in the final game of the regular season at AAMI Park in front of a near-15,000 Good Friday crowd.

Western Sydney Wanderers' hopes of clinching a home final have been dashed, after they succumbed to a goalless draw against a 10-man Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.

Brisbane sharpshooter Jamie Maclaren delivered a reminder of his quality to Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou with an A-League wonder-goal to sink Melbourne Victory and deliver the Premiers' Plate to Sydney FC.

Kevin Muscat admits to ''one or two things'' in his playing career he'd take back if he could. "But you can't go back."

Melbourne Victory have banned several fans from matches after they were involved in a violent brawl with Sydney supporters early this month.

Melbourne Victory cement themselves in second place with an emphatic win over Perth Glory.

Four Victorian men were arrested during the second half of Sydney FC's 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory and charged with affray following an ugly public brawl in Surry HIlls before Friday night's match.

A year spent at Melbourne Victory and the knowledge of how coach Kevin Muscat likes to play may have been the secret to Danny Vukovic's defining save for Sydney FC to all-but clinch the premiership for the Sky Blues.

Sydney's first clean sweep of Melbourne Victory effectively sealed their first trophy in seven years with the Premiers' Plate in touching distance.

It looks as though veteran winger Fahid Ben Khalfallah may have played his last game for Melbourne Victory after he was again omitted from the matchday squad for Saturday night's win over Adelaide United.

Second against last. A clean bill of health compared to a weak and wounded squad that's endured a midweek Asian Champions League mauling.

Striker Besart Berisha has stunned Melbourne Victory on the run-in to A-League finals by answering an international call from the country of his birth, Kosovo.

A brace from Besart Berisha and a superb solo goal from James Troisi saw Melbourne Victory seal a comfortable win over Central Coast Mariners and keep their faint premiership hopes alive.

• ANALYSIS

Coach Kevin Muscat was critical of Melbourne Victory's lack of intensity in their laboured scoreless draw away to Newcastle Jets on Monday night, leaving his side 11 points behind league leaders Sydney FC.

After a nil-nil draw in Newcastle, Melbourne Victory are now 11 points adrift of A-League leaders Sydney.

Melbourne Victory boss Kevin Muscat has added his voice to the chorus, calling for A-League referees to lift their game, but suggested that better resources are needed if the standard of refereeing is to truly improve.

Newcastle's A-League home clash with Melbourne Victory has been moved to Monday night due to the extreme heat expected on Saturday afternoon.

Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas understands the frustration that saw his Melbourne City opposite Dean Bouzanis lash out at Victory striker Besart Berisha, even if he doesn't condone Bouzanis' sledging of the Albanian as a gypsy.

Tim Cahill is used to making headlines and breaking records in Australian soccer.

Is there more of an on field embodiment for coach Kevin Muscat than Besart Berisha?

Melbourne Victory skipper Carl Valeri has backed Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury's loan move to Inter Milan – the club Valeri cut his professional teeth at – saying playing in the Serie A should help the centre-back develop and improve his game.

Anyone having a bet on the race for the A-League golden boot could be forgiven for focusing on the top two strikers who will face off on Saturday night in the third Melbourne derby of the season.

Melbourne City coaching staff are hopeful that marquee man Tim Cahill will be fit to take his place against local rivals Melbourne Victory in the third A-League derby of the season next Saturday night.

Marking the A-League's greatest ever goal scorer in a debut would seem a baptism of fire for most defenders though Sydney FC's Dutch centre-back wasn't overly impressed by Besart Berisha

Kevin Muscat, Melbourne Victory's coach, looked unimpressed when asked on the eve of the Big Blue clash with Sydney if the current league leaders, unbeaten in 16 A-League matches coming into Thursday night's game, could be the best A-League team ever.

Provocative comments from Kevin Muscat attempted to rattle the nerves of Sydney FC ahead of Thursday's Big Blue with Melbourne Victory, though the Sky Blue's midfielder Milos Ninkovic didn't even flinch.

Three games in seven days with trips to Wellington and Perth thrown in for good measure. Surely that takes its toll on players physical and mental strength?

A-League title favourites Sydney FC enter this week's Big Blue with a psychological advantage after nearest rivals Melbourne Victory were brought undone by their gruelling road trip.