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Melbourne Victory didn't win a Melbourne derby last season and they have lost the opening derby for the past three seasons so Thomas Deng wants that to change.

Defender Thomas Deng says Melbourne Victory's recent poor form in early-season A-League derbies is "old news" and his side is out to win back local bragging rights.

Victory lost their first derby to Melbourne City in the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns - and failed to win any of the encounters between the cross town rivals last season.

"That's last year so it's old news. It's all about now," Deng told reporters on Wednesday.

"So we'll see who has the last word I guess."

Victory will host City at Marvel Stadium on Saturday and Deng said a win would be important for early-season momentum, but warned of underestimating the FFA Cup finalists.

"They're definitely a side that we can't underestimate and we're going to approach this game very seriously and go from there," he said.

City will be without striker Jamie Maclaren due to Socceroos duty, but Deng said he would have welcomed the challenge.

"I wouldn't mind (facing Maclaren) - get a good test in me, I'm not really scared of anyone," he said.

Deng and the Victory defence will have to be ready to curb the influence of English import Craig Noone, who has been a prolific goalscorer in the FFA Cup.

"He looks like a good player, he's probably one of their main players that we need to be wary of," he said.

"But other than that, I think we don't have much to worry about."

The derby will also be the club's first with Marco Kurz at the helm, after the German replaced Kevin Muscat during the off-season.

Deng said Kurz's arrival signalled an exciting new era at Victory.

"It's very exciting, we've got a new coach and new management," he said.

"So it's a different feel. It's also a new beginning for us - we're very excited for the season and we're happy to have Marco at the club."