Both the Heart and Gold Coast are desperate for a win, each for different reasons.
Have a Heart and celebrate Harmony Day at AAMI Park! Be part of the fun as Melbourne look to get their finals push back on track!
AAMI Park celebrates Harmony Day on Friday, as Melbourne Heart play a massive match against Gold Coast United.
In partnership with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Heart are turning the event into something really special, with an inaugural Girls With Heart game to be played as the curtain raiser for the crucial clash.
The interfaith match brings girls from Jewish, Islamic and Christian faiths and from European, African and Asian backgrounds together as one.
There will also be Harmony Day crowd giveaways, player mascots, small-sided games featuring multicultural community kids and a rousing rendition of "I am Australian" by the Balwyn High School Choir. It is sure to be a cracking occasion.
And then, of course, there are vital Hyundai A-League points to play for. While Melbourne Heart have hit the stumbling blocks in their bid for silverware at the tail-end of the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season, the Red & White are still nestled in the top six, but they need your support this weekend if they are to stay there.
Having collected just three points from their past eight games, your team needs you to get right behind them and give the kind of vocal encouragement that will help them arrest their slide down the ladder.
So, if you want your club to be part of the nail-biting excitement of the end-of-season finals, then it's up to you to get to AAMI Park on Friday and make some serious noise.
Last week's loss in Newcastle showed just how much they require the twelfth man that a big AAMI Park crowd can offer. Heart gave little resistance as the Jets fired three goals without reply, but, while that performance summed up a worrying slump in form, John van 't Schip's men have every chance to get their season back on track this Friday, as they take on the Hyundai A-League's cellar dwellers. In their two games this season - both at Skilled Park - Melbourne are unbeaten, taking four points from a possible six.
While the home side are hoping to remain in the top six, their opponents need the points for a very different reason. Staring up at the rest of the Hyundai A-League, Gold Coast United must start winning games soon if they are to avoid the wooden spoon.
Last weekend's loss to Adelaide United did nothing to help their chances of avoiding finishing bottom of the pile. Things initially looked so good for United, in torrential rain at Skilled Park on Sunday, a Nigel Boogaard own goal gave the hosts an early lead, but strikes from Bruce Djite and Dario Vidosic helped the team one place above them to open up an eight-point gap. That is going to be tough to claw back.
With two out-of-form teams doing battle, this one is sure to be as full-blooded as they come. So get along to AAMI Park and be a part of the excitement of the Hyundai A- League and the fun of Harmony Day!