Depleted Melbourne Victory set for shake-up as Kevin Muscat juggles pack Rising Phoenix: Wellington is hoping to overcome its Melbourne hoodoo. Wellington Phoenix has traditionally been Melbourne Victory's whipping boy when it has travelled over the Tasman to the Victorian capital, failing to win an A-League game against the former champions on any occasion. But it will never have a better chance than it will on Monday night when Ernie Merrick's side takes on a depleted Victory at AAMI Park, a Cup Eve clash which has quickly become a tradition between the two clubs. While Wellington was able to bask in the satisfaction of a 4-1 home win over the Newcastle Jets and prepare in unhurried fashion for this game last week, Melbourne Victory was making an ill-fated trip across the Nullarbor for an FFA Cup tie against Perth Glory. The match went to extra time and Perth eventually ran out 4-2 winners to advance to the semi final. For Victory the loss was not just on the scoreboard. Kevin Muscat's men arrived back home battered, bruised and depleted on the Thursday, knowing injuries and poor discipline would leave them short for this encounter. Muscat confirmed on Sunday that key striker Besart Berisha would miss this fixture, as will first choice centre back Matthieu Delpierre as a result of groin and hamstring injuries they picked up in the west. Also absent are centre back Adrian Leijer and full back Daniel Georgievski, who were both sent off in that game after picking up two cautions. Leijer, in particular, has a poor disciplinary record and picks up numerous cards. Muscat admitted that "a conversation has been had and will remain private" between himself and the club leader, one of the veterans who has been with Victory for most of its ten years in the league. There's no one more frustrated than the player himself. Are we disappointed, is he disappointed? Of course we are," the coach said. During the Asian Champions League campaign and finals run last season Muscat was not afraid to chop and change his line-up and trust squad players and youngsters to do the job when needed. He will be hoping that the experience gained by the likes of Scott Galloway, Dylan Murnane and Rashid Mahazi last season will be invaluable against the Phoenix. All are expected to start against the club managed by former Victory boss Merrick: the first two taking the full back roles, the latter slotting in alongside Carl Valeri in midfield. Archie Thompson, who was a late withdrawal in Perth through sickness, has been cleared to play and could take Berisha's place in the centre of the attack, with Fahid Ben Khalfallah starting in a wide area. Alternately, the latter could start centrally if Thompson is left on the bench. Archie's fine. Matthew and Bes have both got strains so obviously we will look after them, they need some more time to recover," Muscat said. It's not a real bad strain, so fingers crossed they will be available for next week's game. We have certainly got enough players and quality to cover for the boys that aren't available. There will be one or two not playing in their favourite position, but we have players like Broxy [Leigh Broxham], Millsy [captain Mark Milligan, normally a midfielder] who can play as central defenders. We have two natural full backs and midfielders. We are comfortable in that. We have had a good look at him [Fahid] there [as a central striker]. We know Archie can play there, he has played there plenty of times and scored lots of goals from that position. It's just a matter of finding the balance we think will bear the most fruit for us tomorrow night. The Phoenix lost their first game of the season, at home to Perth, but have beaten Central Coast and Newcastle in their last two. Muscat has a high regard for the transformation his former coach, Merrick, has wrought in NZ and the impact of his new signings, Michael McGlinchey and Nathan Burns. Wellington have shown some signs. In transition they have got a little bit of pace in behind Jeremy Brockie and have caused teams problems with that. For us it's more about being in control when we have the ball and staying in control when we lose the ball. Hopefully that will nullify the majority of their threat. Burns has quickly become a key player, he believes. Their structure is very important to what they do, and when you become important to the structure of a team you have got the chance to shine. He certainly has done well, he does cause problems going forward and he is a threat.