Goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas says Melbourne Victory don't need to beat the Central Coast Mariners on Friday to be confident for the A-League finals series.
The Victory haven't won or scored in their past three matches -- a goalless run that is almost without precedent for the Victorian heavyweights. It's been six years since the club haven't scored in three matches.
But the table doesn't lie. Kevin Muscat's side have the points on the board to finish in second place, and Thomas says that gives them enough belief to be serious championship contenders.
"We come out confident every game we play," he said on Wednesday, dismissing queries about recent form.
"In finals anything could happen. You could have a team that scrapes into sixth and ends up winning the thing.
"We want to have a great performance and do well [against the Mariners and then] we're looking forward to a home semi."
It's unclear who the Victory will host in that semifinal.
If the third place finisher -- likely to be Brisbane Roar -- wins their elimination final, it will send that team to Melbourne.
If third loses against sixth, it will pit the winner of the other elimination final -- fourth vs. fifth and likely to be Melbourne City or Perth Glory -- against the Victory.
A possible Melbourne derby semifinal would be played at Etihad Stadium on Friday April 28.
Thomas said he didn't have a preference who Victory faced, or where, with his eyes set firmly on another crack at premiers Sydney FC.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper said their Grand Final duel two years ago, won by the Victory, was another reason to be confident.
"Two years ago when we played them there was similar talk as well about how strong they were," he said.
"Look how that finished. It's not done and dusted at all."
Despite the fears Victory are coasting to the finish line ahead of their home semifinal, Thomas said the club were motivated to redeem themselves on Good Friday against Central Coast.
Their last home fixture to Wellington was an unmitigated disaster, and Thomas said the club owed it to the fans who sat through the 3-0 loss.
""Everyone knew the performance wasn't good enough. My performance wasn't good enough," he said.
"It was addressed quite strictly and quite heavily straight after ... hard words were said.
"We need to rectify some stuff we did in our last home game."