Head to head: Melbourne 77 wins, Essendon 126 wins, two draws
Last time: Melbourne 13.5 (83) def by Essendon 19.17 (131), round 12, 2009 at Etihad Stadium
MISSING IN ACTION
Melbourne
Max Gawn (knee) - 1 week
Jordan Gysberts (back) - 1 week
Rhys Healey (hamstring) - 4 weeks
James McDonald (hamstring) - 1 week
John Meesen (ankle) - indefinite
Ricky Petterd (shoulder) - season
James Strauss (knee) - TBC
Austin Wonaeamirri (shoulder) - TBC
Essendon
Dustin Fletcher (suspension) - 1 week
David Hille (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks
Jason Laycock (foot) - Season
Angus Monfries (hamstring) - test
Tayte Pears (pancreas) - TBC
Henry Slattery (ribs) - 1 week
FORM
Melbourne: LLDLL
Essendon: WLLLL
SUMMARY
After showing encouraging signs early in the season both sides have largely disappointed over the past month. The Demons put three wins together after losing the first two games of the season, but have just one win and a draw since. They were at least in the contest at three-quarter time against St Kilda last week, but faded badly in the final term to go down by 35 points.
The Bombers take a four-game losing streak, which has seen them fade as a finals contender, into the match. An 84-point smacking at the hands of Adelaide at AAMI Stadium last week brought widespread condemnation and effectively ended the Dons' finals campaign.
The Bombers take a four-game losing streak, which has seen them fade as a finals contender, into the match. An 84-point smacking at the hands of Adelaide at AAMI Stadium last week brought widespread condemnation and effectively ended the Dons' finals campaign.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Jack Watts has had a pretty lean year of it in front of the big sticks, but he looked to make a bit of progress against the Saints. He has just five goals to his name, but pitted against an undermanned Don defence he could be in for a breakout game.
Jay Neagle was supposed to blossom in the absence of Matthew Lloyd, but the full-forward has been cooling his heels in the VFL since being dropped after round one. He'll need a big finish to the season to win back Bombers supporters disappointed by his output this year.
QUESTION MARKS
Can the Dees get their forward line working? They haven't scored more than 76 points in their past five outings and that won't often get the job done.
Can the Bombers respond in an appropriate manner? Some players offered apologies for the Crows debacle, but they're just hollow words at this point.
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
The Bombers have had the blowtorch applied to them after another interstate disappointment and should at least come out pumped up for a big showing. But the Demons will fancy their own chances and have the more-settled line-up of the two. The loss of Dustin Fletcher and Tayte Pears has left a large hole in the Bombers' defence and the Dees might just be able to exploit that.
PREDICTION
Melbourne by three points
Chat with host Luke Holmesby and other fans in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au from 1.40pm Sunday or join the conversation on Twitter: #afldemonsbombers
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
