Adelaide United face Newcastle Jets for the second time in an FFA Cup match when the two Hyundai A-League sides clash in a Quarter Final from 7:30pm AEST on Tuesday night.
The Reds won that last encounter between the two teams – a 1-0 Round of 32 result at Marden Sports Complex in 2017.
While Adelaide are feeling confident heading into the match, so too are the Jets, who are determined to build on solid pre-season results in their first Quarter Final.
Read up on what you need to know for the match in the preview below!
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Tonight, @AdelaideUnited host @NewcastleJetsFC for a spot in the #FFACup Semi Finals!
Relive the action the last time the two sides met in the Cup back in 2017.#ADLvNEW #MagicOfTheCup pic.twitter.com/HiVdH6pNeM
— Australia Cup (@AustraliaCup) September 16, 2019
Team news
Adelaide United
Three players will be unavailable for selection with Verbeek ruling out Michaël Maria and youngsters, Kusini Yengi and Carlo Armiento.
“Michaël Maria isn’t available, Kusini (Yengi) isn’t available, and Carlo (Armiento) isn’t available,” said coach Gertjan Verbeek.
“Maria has some problems with his hips from the Gold Cup that he played and then he had two weeks on holiday and then it was better.
“But now we did a lot of training and he has some problems with the hips, the adductor so he’s been out of training for two weeks.
“He’s now starting and joined the group for three or four days but it’s too early for the game.”
The Dutchman further discussed Yengi’s and Armiento’s absence.
“Carlo has a problem with his upper leg, the quadricep – it’s a muscle injury and Kusini a little bit similar to last year,” he added.
“So he’s growing, he’s getting stronger, but not strong enough for the power he has already so it’s a problem of his age and he’s growing.
“I heard two years back he was one of the little ones, now he’s one of the big ones so there’s always giving a lot of problems in football when you train a lot – so we’ve to be careful with him.”
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Monday night lights 💡😍
🎟️ Tickets: https://t.co/WSKuifIwmz pic.twitter.com/3WBN1k23lD
— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) September 16, 2019
Newcastle Jets
There’s no shortage of player news for the Jets this week, with a combined 100+ years of experience in the running to return from injury.
Ernie Merrick has indicated that defensive trio Nigel Boogaard, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, and Glen Moss are all in line to sit on the bench in Adelaide.
One experienced operator who definitely will miss out is Ben Kantarovski, who picked up a slight knock to his hamstring at training late last week.
Of course, the biggest questions around selection leading into this match are around Panamanian striker, Abdiel Arroyo.
The number 9 went down at training on Friday after rolling his ankle and while the initial prognosis was severe it’s not entirely clear what type of role, if any, he plays.
He has made the trip across to Adelaide, but whether he plays or not remains to be seen. If he is unavailable, expect either Kaine Sheppard or Jason Hoffman to fill the void up front.
Just over seven hours until we take on the Reds in Adelaide, and there are a number of experienced heads set to return to the squad 👀 #MadeOfNewcastle
📰 https://t.co/CaaNDVlSi7 pic.twitter.com/4eXwHfQ5Ew
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) September 17, 2019
What they’ve said
Gertjan Verbeek:
“I think for tomorrow there’s always some excitement in your body and then when the match is starting that slips away,” Verbeek told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Monday.
“You are only focused on the match, so for now with one training sessions to go and we’re looking good.
“The players are doing a good job and we’re all together again because the national players (the Olyroos boys) were away and some young players had a holiday.”
“What I’m seeing and how they’re developing I’m satisfied,” he said.
“I said the last few trainings have been at a good quality. They understand much more than in the beginning and we need that.
“They’ve made progress in training, but now I’ve to see it in the game – that’s the most important.
“That’s the result that you’ve to keep on going and to get some confidence and to convince the players that this is the way for this team to be successful.
“… I think we’ll have to play our best football tomorrow to win this game.”
Are you going to be there for Gertjan's first game at Coopers? #MagicOfTheCup
🎟️ Tickets: https://t.co/WSKuifIwmz pic.twitter.com/na5xgS9aVp
— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) September 16, 2019
Jonny Koutroumbis:
“It’s an exciting game. The club hasn’t really progressed this far in the FFA Cup ever.”
“For me, playing in front of my family and friends means a lot. I don’t usually get to do it, I moved to Newcastle alone at 18 years old, so to go back whenever I can and play in front of them is really special.
“It’s very important for the fans that we do well, and it shows where we are. We want the fans to get excited for the Hyundai A-League, and this is the way to do it. Seeing how far we’ve come, I think it’ll give them great confidence in us.
“New coach in Adelaide, but they’re a great squad with a good bunch of players and we’re expecting a tough match on Tuesday.”
All matches will be streamed on www.foxsports.com.au, Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and the MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers.
You can also follow all the action on twitter using the hashtags #FFACup #MagicOfTheCup
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