Holiday Inn Match Preview: Royals begin six game homestand with clash against FC Melbourne Serbija

Essendon Royals’ senior men return home to kick-off a run of six straight league games at home, when they host FC Melbourne Serbija at Cross Keys Reserve on Friday night.

Our weekly previews are brought to you by the Geelong Holiday Inn, as we look ahead to the upcoming rounds of action.

Essendon’s Cup run ended on Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss to Bentleigh Greens at Cross Keys Reserve.

Royals took the lead, but were pegged back by George Katsakis’ side who booked their place in the next round with a resounding second-half showing.

Their league form has also tapered off in recent weeks, losing each of their last three matches, including a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Boroondara-Carey Eagles last Saturday.

Watch the highlights from our 3-2 defeat against Boroondara-Carey Eagles.

Their opponents, Serbija, sit five points clear of the Royals in fourth after they fell to a 2-1 defeat against league leaders North Sunshine Eagles last weekend.

However, the newly promoted side have been fantastic all campaign, shooting up the standings off the back of a bunch of impressive wins against the likes of Brunswick Juventus and Pascoe Vale.

They also booked their place in the next round of the Dockerty Cup with a massive 5-0 victory over Hoppers Crossing last week.

The danger man up front for Serbija has been Luka Ninkovic, who has scored six goals in nine appearances since arriving at the club in the off-season.

Kick-off is at 8:30 PM, with the Under 23s taking the field just beforehand at 6:15 PM.

The Under 23s drew 1-1 last Sunday against the Eagles, and sit a point clear of Serbija in seventh spot on the ladder, after the latter demolished North Sunshine 4-0 on the weekend.