Nine days after a group of their fans rushed the AAMI Park pitch in one of Australian football's darkest nights, Melbourne Victory will return to action against local rivals Western United.
Victory are reeling after last Saturday's ugly scenes, when 150 spectators stormed the field during the A-League Men contest against Melbourne City, forcing the abandonment of the match.
So far, only interim sanctions have been handed down by Football Australia, largely based around attendance.
Victory fans and members are barred from attending the Boxing Day game against United.
Only United members and fans who had tickets prior to 11am on December 23 are able to attend.
Victory managing director Caroline Carnegie has called on her club's fans not to attempt to find loopholes to attend the game.
"We want our members and fans in the stadium but first and foremost we want everybody to feel safe about coming to football matches, and we understand that the sanctions are part of the healing process to get there," she said.
"Which means we really need all of our people to do the right thing, not try and circumvent what's been put in place.
"Let's cop what we've got, work together with the other football stakeholders and move forward as a game."
Carnegie admitted it was tough for players not yet knowing whether the club would receive other sanctions - which could include points deductions.
Victory have not played a full game since beating Macarthur FC away on December 11, as the derby was called off at about the 22nd minute with City leading 1-0.
They will hope their reshuffled attack, including Nick D'Agostino, Bruno Fornaroli, Nani and Chris Ikonomidis, can deliver.
Victory coach Tony Popovic praised the way his players have been able to focus on the game during the club's darkest hour.
"I wouldn't say it's been difficult," Popovic said.
"Of course, we're not naive enough to say that it's not something we're thinking about, or that it's not on our minds.
"But the players have trained extremely well. They know all we can do is train well and try to play as best as we can on Boxing Day against Western United, which is a big game for us."
Reigning champions United will attempt to win their third game in four matches after a tough start to the season.
They are without defender Leo Lacroix (suspension) but have been buoyed by star striker Aleksandar Prijovic's form since returning from injury.
