Game-by-game preview: What you need to know for Round 9 of the Isuzu UTE A-League

The Isuzu UTE A-League is back this weekend and aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of Round 9 of the 2024-25 season.

Read on for a game-by-game preview ahead of Round 9.

*Bye: Newcastle Jets

R8 TALKING POINTS: Ultimate praise for A-Leagues icon as huge derby decision looms

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Adelaide United v Sydney FC

Friday, December 20 – Coopers Stadium – 7.35pm AEDT

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Adelaide United are one result away from equalling the club’s best-ever start to an Isuzu UTE A-League season when they host Sydney FC at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.

The Reds went eight games without defeat to start the 2010-11 campaign and now, after a seven-game unbeaten streak, Friday’s clash with the Sky Blues provides the perfect chance for Carl Veart’s side to chase a piece of history.

Sydney began the season as one of the hot favourites for the Isuzu UTE A-League title but three losses in four games have quickly seen the Sky Blues tumble down the table. Ufuk Talay’s team won three of their first five games but have yet to win back-to-back games in an inconsistent start to season 2024-25.

Those who tune in to Adelaide v Sydney at Coopers Stadium on Friday night will see one of the most entertaining sides in Isuzu UTE A-League history taking to Coopers Stadium – according to Opta, Adelaide are scoring at a rate of 2.43 goals per game this season – the most of any team in league history.

Auckland FC v Western United

Saturday, December 21 – Go Media Stadium – 3pm AEDT

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Auckland FC will look to return to winning ways this weekend on return to Go Media Stadium – but could the in-form Western United cause a major boilover across the ditch?

Western have picked up seven of their eight points for the season in the last four rounds and after a slow start to the season, have closed in on the top six.

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A pulsating 4-3 win over Sydney FC away from home last week has filled John Aloisi’s side with confidence heading to Auckland to take on a Black Knights outfit stung by injuries to key players and coming off a draw against Melbourne City in Round 8.

Auckland’s 2-2 draw with City brought an end to their six-game winning streak to begin the season; head coach Steve Corica went into the game without three key squad members – centre-back Dan Hall and midfielders Cam Howieson and Louis Verstraete – and post-game, confirmed both Hall and Howieson were set for long-term stints on the sidelines.

Speaking post-game, Corica revealed Hall had broken a bone in his foot and Howieson had suffered a calf injury and would be out for around five weeks. Verstraete, who missed Round 8 with a sore back, is expected to return to face Western United.

Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory

Saturday, December 21 – Suncorp Stadium – 5pm AEDT

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There’s immense pressure on the shoulders of both Ruben Zadkovich and David Zdrilic as the respective head coaches of Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory face off in a must-win game for both teams on Saturday evening.

Glory take on Brisbane in a battle between the Isuzu UTE A-League’s only two winless teams after eight rounds; both sides have two points apiece and sit four points adrift of Newcastle Jets in 11th.

Perth have suffered a series of disappointing results so far this season but none felt more deflating than last weekend’s 4-0 home loss to the 11th-placed Jets; without a win in his first eight games as Glory head coach, Zdrilic’s tenure is already under intense scrutiny and criticism of the opening months of his senior managerial career would only increase should he fail to find a way to orchestrate a victory against Brisbane on the road.

The Roar, meanwhile, return home after a 2-2 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 8. Brisbane were criticised for time wasting in the second half of the four-goal stalemate but head coach Zadkovich was defiant post-game, defending his players and the approach he directed them to carry out at CommBank Stadium.

READ MORE: Zadkovich addresses Roar’s ‘atrocious’ antics: ‘You’re spoilt for choice, aren’t yah?’

Zadkovich, Glory’s former head coach, could deal his old club an unwanted piece of history with either a draw or a win at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday – currently on an 18-game winless run, Glory have equalled the longest run of games without a win in the club’s history. A 19th draw/defeat in a row would equal the Isuzu UTE A-League’s all-time longest streak without a win set by both Melbourne Heart (2013-14) and New Zealand Knights (2005-06).

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

Saturday, December 21 – AAMI Park – 7.35pm AEDT

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It’s the annual Christmas Derby in Melbourne – but Melbourne Victory’s preparation for Saturday night’s clash with Melbourne City has been rocked by the shock departure of head coach Patrick Kisnorbo this week.

Kisnorbo joined the club in late June and oversaw a bright start to the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season. Victory lost just one of seven games under their new coach but, less than six months into his three-year contract, Kisnorbo has called it quits in favour of an opportunity overseas.

READ MORE: Patrick Kisnorbo departs Melbourne Victory for ‘overseas opportunity’: Full details

The news is destabilising for Victory ahead of one of the biggest fixtures on the club’s annual calendar; current senior assistant Arthur Diles will lead Victory into Saturday’s Melbourne Derby as interim head coach.

City will be smelling blood after Kisnorbo’s bombshell departure, and head into the derby after ending league-leading Auckland FC’s seven-game winning streak to begin the 2024-25 season.

City drew 2-2 with Auckland in Round 8 after a crushing 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar the weekend prior; overseas imports Andreas Kuen and Yonatan Cohen are hitting their straps in City colours, with Kuen topping the league’s assist leaderboard after eight rounds.

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Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

Sunday, December 22 – CommBank Stadium – 5pm AEDT

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Wellington Phoenix are sixth and falling after back-to-back defeats and travel to Parramatta in need of a result to avoid three consecutive losses for the first time under head coach Giancarlo Italiano.

‘Chiefy’ hadn’t overseen two losses on the bounce in his time as Phoenix head coach before last weekend when a home loss against Macarthur Bulls saw Wellington slide into sixth place on the table.

Three wins, one draw and one defeat through the first five rounds of the season saw the Phoenix climb to second but now they’re at risk of being bundled out of the finals series places by the Wanderers this weekend.

Western Sydney are 10th but within two points of Wellington in sixth and Macarthur in fifth; victory over the Phoenix at home will launch Alen Stajcic’s side up the table and continue a decent run of form that began in Round 4 with a win over the Jets.

The Wanderers have won twice, drawn once and lost once in their last four games but last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Brisbane goes down as a missed opportunity for the Red and Black.

Macarthur Bulls v Central Coast Mariners

Monday, December 23 – Campbelltown Sports Stadium – 7pm AEDT

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Round 9 wraps up with a Monday-night clash between Macarthur Bulls and Central Coast Mariners as the under-pressure Champions travel to Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

The Mariners dropped to ninth after Round 8 following a bruising 4-0 home loss to Adelaide United last time out. Mark Jackson’s side had a horrific start to the 2023-24 season before roaring back into form and it seemed as though the Mariners were showing signs of doing the same with consecutive wins leading into Round 8 but Adelaide’s crushing win in Gosford halted their momentum.

Macarthur, meanwhile, are steadily climbing towards the top four after two draws and a win in their last three games. The Bulls travelled to Wellington and claimed a gutsy 2-1 win over the Phoenix last weekend and return home with aspirations of closing the gap on the top three.

Macarthur are five points off third and eighth off league-leaders Auckland but fourth-placed Melbourne Victory and third-placed Melbourne City face off this weekend, providing the Bulls with a chance to heap pressure on the top four with a win over the Mariners on Monday.

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