Craig Goodwin knows just how important Saturday night’s blockbuster against Melbourne Victory will be for his side’s league ambitions.

The rivalry is shaping up to be even bigger with just a point separating the two sides and six rounds to play before the finals.

The versatile left-side player said that the game will be a deciding factor of the final league positions come the end of the season.

“You can feel all the top five teams on the ladder and see that we are all within three points of each other so we have a massive game against our big rivals this week,” he said.

“We definitely want to win the game, and if we can it’ll put is in a good position to finish as high as we can for the finals series.”

Goodwin also revealed that Coach Josep Gombau’s desire to return to Adelaide United’s style of football helped the team in their 2-1 win against the Mariners on Thursday night.

“Throughout the week before the game, Josep emphasised that we need to get back to the basics and resume playing the style that we have worked on a lot.

“This was our main focus, and that win has now given us a lot of confidence when we really needed it.”

Goodwin scored the winning goal in that game from a midfield position, but he conceded that he’d like to work on his defence.

“I think Josep likes me more of a winger but I’m able to play both midfield and defence.

“For my own development, I know that I need to work on my defence a bit more because being able to play both positions is very handy for my team.”

Craig had some final words for the fans heading into the always-heated derby match on Saturday night.

“The home crowd gives as an extra man and to have their support behind us will be massive come game day,” he said.

“Show your passion and show your support because it always come out in the players but be on your best behaviour too, and hopefully the boys can get the business done on the pitch.”

Adelaide United host arch rivals Melbourne Victory in Round 22 of the Hyundai 2014/15 A-League season on Saturday, 21 March at Coopers Stadium. Kick off at 7.00pm ACDT. To purchase tickets, click here.