Melbourne Victory request Thursday home semi-final

Melbourne Victory have requested to play their home semi-final on a Thursday night if they happen to finish in the top two.

The reigning champions want the semi-final first leg brought forward to Thursday February 18 if they finish top and have hosting rights which will give them just three days of preparation for the match.

With the final home and away game against Sydney FC this Sunday (a draw or win would see the Victory finish on top) followed by their opening Asian Champions League group stage match on February 23 in Beijing, Melbourne will have a cluttered schedule with three vital matches in nine days.

But football operations manager Gary Cole said that because the finals series was not etched in stone, the club has the opportunity to play their own cards, but only if they have the privilege of finishing on top of the table.

"While it's not written in blood or ink, it could happen," Cole said yesterday from China.

"We're looking at the choice of playing the first leg at home, but we have to finish on top of the table to do that."

Cole is in China before heading to South Korea and Japan later this week to research all things available to the club when they travel over to Asia for the ACL and wanted to leave no stone unturned.

"It's just a matter of checking the hotels, the stadiums, the facilities, the transport," Cole said. "We don't want any surprises when we arrive."