5 reasons to watch the Hyundai A-League this weekend

The Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season reaches an intriguing Round 6 this weekend.

Here are your five reasons to catch all the action…

​GOMBAU TAKES CHARGE

He sat in the stands last weekend, but Josep Gombau takes full control of Western Sydney Wanderers for the first time this weekend.

He’ll inherit an unbeaten outfit from caretaker boss Hayden Foxe and will look to enhance the already good form of his countrymen Oriol Riera, Alvaro Cejudo and Raul Llorente.

Warren Joyce’s men will be smarting after suffering their first blemish of the season last weekend, going down 1-0 at home to Sydney FC.

A blockbuster clash awaits at AAMI Park on Sunday evening!

Josep Gombau

 

OKON EYES AN UPSET

Paul Okon’s men have earned plenty of admirers this season, but are still without a win from five games.

Achieving that task won’t be anything close to straightforward when the Mariners welcome defending champions Sydney FC to Gosford on Friday night.

But after coming within inches of beating Victory last time they were at home, Central Coast will believe they can pull off the biggest â€‹upset of the season to date.

Central Coast Mariners

 

BOOGS RAISES HIS BAT

It’s a milestone match for Jets skipper Nigel Boogaard and he’ll play it at his former stomping ground.

Saturday night’s game away at Adelaide United will be Boogaard’s 200th in the Hyundai A-League, 98 of which were in Reds colours.

But knowing â€‹”​Boogs “, the landmark won’t mean a thing unless his side claim all three points to continue their impressive unbeaten start to 2017/18.

Nigel Boogaard

 

SLEEPING GIANTS LOOK TO WAKE

You’d have got long odds on Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory both going winless through their first five games of the new season.

But fans of the perennial finalists have endured a frustrating start to their sides’ campaigns with goals (and points) hard to come by.

These two played out a rip-roaring five-goal thriller at AAMI Park last season; could we see something similar at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night?

Victory

 

MIDFIELD BATTLE COULD DECIDE LONG-HAUL CLASH

Westpac Stadium plays host to New Zealand’s World Cup playoff against Peru on Saturday and 24 hours later the Phoenix welcome Glory for the “Distance Derby”.

Wellington are unbeaten in their last five home games, but Glory haven’t lost any of their last five against the Phoenix.

However, the game could be decided by how well Wellington defensive midfielder Goran Paracki can contain Perth’s Spanish maestro Diego Castro. 

Castro