The Isuzu UTE A-League is back this weekend and aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of Round 20 of the 2024-25 season.
Read on for a game-by-game preview ahead of Round 20.
Bye: Macarthur Bulls
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Newcastle Jets v Brisbane Roar
Friday, February 21 – McDonald Jones Stadium – 7.35pm AEDT
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All of a sudden, Newcastle Jets are one of the in-form sides of the competition and as they welcome Brisbane Roar to McDonald Jones Stadium, they now have the chance to win three consecutive games for the first time since 2018 and move to within four points of the top six.
The 11th-placed Jets have played 16 games this season – one game less than Sydney FC in sixth – and have been much-improved of late, having gone unbeaten in four games (two wins, two draws).
Newcastle’s shock 2-1 win over Adelaide United in Round 19 was their second straight win and a big factor in their resurgence has been the combination of Kota Mizunuma and Lachlan Rose in the final third.
Rose has scored in three consecutive games while Japanese winger Mizunuma has notched three assists in his first four games since signing for the club in January.
The Jets face bottom-placed Brisbane in Round 20 after the Roar served the bye last weekend; Ruben Zadkovich’s side has collected four of its six points for the whole season in the last three games.
Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix
Saturday, February 22 – Go Media Stadium – 3pm AEDT
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Auckland FC will look to complete a clean sweep of rivals Wellington Phoenix in the third instalment of the New Zealand Derby on Saturday afternoon.
Wellington travel to Go Media Stadium eager to atone for two defeats against Auckland in the first seven rounds of the season; the two sides meet again this weekend, more than two months on from their last encounter, with the Phoenix sitting 10th on the table and losing touch on the top six after a loss to Melbourne Victory in Round 19.
Auckland, meanwhile, are first and flying after a 2-0 win over fellow top-six side Western United. Centre-back Nando Pijnaker made a quick recovery from an ankle injury to start against Western and head coach Steve Corica will receive another boost this weekend when star midfielder Louis Verstraete returns from a one-game suspension.
Saturday’s derby could provide new Wellington signing Francisco Geraldes the chance to make his league debut after arriving at the club last week.
Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers
Saturday, February 22 – CommBank Stadium – 5pm AEDT
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It’s go time for two-time reigning champions Central Coast in their fight to make finals as they return to Isuzu UTE A-League action against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday evening.
The Mariners sat out of Round 19 in order to complete the league phase campaign of the AFC Asian Champions League Elite; Mark Jackson’s side face a quick turnaround as they travel back from Japan after Tuesday night’s meeting with Kawasaki Frontale to take on the Wanderers in Gosford.
Central Coast have drawn four straight games in the Isuzu UTE A-League – a run that followed a 3-1 win over the Wanderers in Round 15.
Western Sydney have been in good form of late, beating Brisbane and Macarthur Bulls and taking a point off Sydney FC in the Sydney Derby to draw level on 25 points with the sixth-placed Sky Blues. The Wanderers are eighth heading into the weekend but could jump up as high as third with a win over the Mariners ahead of the remaining Round 20 games.
Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City
Saturday, February 22 – AAMI Park – 7.35pm AEDT
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Derby day continues on Saturday as Melbourne Victory host Melbourne City at AAMI Park in a tantalising battle between third and fourth.
Victory have won three of their last four games and bounced back from a shock 3-0 loss to the Jets in Round 18 with an important 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix. That result sent Arthur Diles’ side up to third, one point ahead of Melbourne City who ended their three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win against Perth Glory.
After the Glory win, City coach Aurelio Vidmar hinted Kai Trewin and Andreas Kuen would both return from injury against Victory this weekend, with Yonatan Cohen “three to four weeks” away from a comeback following a knee injury.
The last Melbourne Derby was new Victory head coach Diles’ first game in charge in what was then an interim capacity following the exit of Patrick Kisnorbo from the role. Under Kisnorbo, Victory notched a convincing 3-1 win over City in the first Derby of the season.
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
Saturday, February 22 – HBF Park – 9.45pm AEDT
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Sydney FC travel to Perth will full confidence in their chances to strengthen their grip on a spot in the top six against a Perth Glory outfit sitting 12th on the table.
The Sky Blues haven’t lost against Perth in six previous meetings, with the most recent encounter finishing 3-0 in favour of Sydney thanks to a hat-trick from the league’s current Golden Boot leader, Joe Lolley.
The star Englishman has scored nine goals against Perth – more than any other opponent he’s played against in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
But Sydney are faced with the challenging task of travelling to Perth off the back of a midweek trip to Bangkok for an AFC Asian Champions League Two Round-of-16 clash with Bangkok United. Sky Blues head coach Ufuk Talay will hope to see mid-season signing Alex Grant make his club debut against Bangkok, after which he could play his first league game for the club against his former side Perth on Saturday night.
Glory have won just one of their last nine games and head into Round 20 having lost 1-0 to Melbourne City.
Western United v Adelaide United
Sunday, February 23 – Ironbark Fields – 5pm AEDT
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The last game of Round 20 sees Western United host Adelaide United as the Reds look to regain momentum in their race to the Premiers Plate.
Adelaide lost 2-1 to 11th-placed Newcastle Jets last time out – a shock result that allowed Auckland FC to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points over the second-placed Reds.
Sunday’s game at Ironbark Fields could be decided by a battle between two of Australia’s most exciting young strikers as Adelaide’s Archie Goodwin and Western’s Noah Botic go head to head in Tarneit.
Both players have eight goals apiece this season and sit equal-second in the Golden Boot standings, one goal shy of Joe Lolley’s nine-goal tally.
