The games are coming thick and fast during the Summer of Football and Round 13 of the Isuzu UTE A-League is now upon us! To get you up to speed ahead of the latest matches, aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of all six fixtures.
*Bye: Western Sydney Wanderers
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Melbourne Victory v Western United
Friday, January 10 – AAMI Park, 7:35pm AEDT
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They may still be searching for their first win under caretaker head coach Arthur Diles but the Melbourne Victory boss is confident it’s not too far away.
Since taking charge following the departure of former head coach Patrick Kisnorbo, Diles has overseen a loss and three draws, the most recent of which was a 2-2 thriller with Western Sydney Wanderers.
Victory head into the weekend fourth on the ladder with 19 points to their name but a win over one of the league’s most in-form sides in Western United could see them finish the round in second spot should other results go their way.
Meanwhile, their local opponents make the short trip to AAMI Park fresh off a 2-0 loss to Melbourne City.
Prior to their defeat on Tuesday night Western were the form team in the Isuzu UTE A-League having recorded four straight wins as part of a five-game unbeaten run, a run which coincidentally began after they lost 3-1 to Victory at AAMI Park on December 1.
Currently occupying sixth spot on the ladder, Western are certainly a team that have caused plenty of problems this season and with Hiroshi Ibusuki having already bagged five goals this campaign, Victory’s defence will definitely have their work cut out.
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Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United
Saturday, January 11 – Sky Stadium, 3:00pm AEDT
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Wellington Phoenix boss Giancarlo Italiano conceded he needs to go back to the drawing board after the side’s recent 2-0 loss to Melbourne City – their fourth in five games.
A much-changed side from the one which reached the Semi-Finals last season, the ‘Nix have struggled in front of goal this campaign having found the back of the net just 12 times in 10 games – only Central Coast (11) and Perth Glory (7) have scored fewer.
Whilst they rank last in the competition for ‘shots on target per match’ (2.5) and 11th for xG (expected goals) a bright spot for the ‘Nix has been the form of veteran striker Kosta Barbarouses.
Leading the Golden Boot race with six goals, Barbarouses heads into the clash with Adelaide United knowing he needs just one more goal to join the exclusive ‘100 Club’ in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Carl Veart’s Adelaide United will arrive at Sky Stadium full of confidence following their dramatic 2-1 win over Macarthur Bulls on Monday night.
Trailing in the 80th minute, goals from Zach Clough and a 92nd-minute winner from recalled striker Luka Jovanovic saw the Reds bag their fifth consecutive win on the road – a stat that will no doubt have the Phoenix fan base concerned.
Furthermore, that win left the Reds breathing down the necks of league-leaders Auckland FC and they know a win over Wellington coupled with results elsewhere could see them finish the round on top of the table.
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Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar
Saturday, January 11 – AAMI Park, 5:00pm AEDT
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Melbourne City head coach Aurelio Vidmar described his side as the ‘Liquorice AllSorts’ following their recent 2-0 win over Western United – partly because with so many young players being deployed you just know what you’re going to get!
Despite finding themselves in an injury crisis which has seen senior players Mathew Leckie, Marco Tilio, Andrew Nabbout, Jimmy Jeggo, Yonatan Cohen and Andreas Kuen all sidelined, Vidmar’s young guns performed admirably and they currently sit second on the ladder following their latest win.
In fact City head into the game riding a six-game unbeaten run which has left them just two points behind league-leaders Auckland FC.
At the opposite end of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder are Ruben Zadkovich’s Brisbane Roar who, following a 1-0 loss to Newcastle Jets on Tuesday night, are still yet to win a game this season.
Bottom of the ladder with just two points from nine games, Roar will be desperate to pick up their first three points of the campaign and are likely to deploy sought-after striker Thomas Waddingham from the start after he was used as a substitute for the midweek loss to Newcastle.
Melbourne City have won seven of the last 10 league meetings between these two with Brisbane winning two – the most recent of which was a 5-1 home victory in February 2024.
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Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday, January 11 – Allianz Stadium, 7:35pm AEDT
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Can any team stop Joe Lolley on current form?
Central Coast Mariners will be the next to try on Saturday night, when they travel to face Sydney FC and the in-form marksman of the competition, who on Wednesday night scored his first A-Leagues hat-trick to move to the top of the Golden Boot leaderboard, with eight goals in nine games.
Lolley’s three goals against Perth helped Sydney move to within one point of Western United in sixth heading into Round 13; Ufuk Talay’s side now have a great chance to move into the finals standings after an inconsistent start to the season – and with Lolley currently putting together the best run of form of his two-and-a-half season stay in the Isuzu UTE A-League, it appears the Sky Blues plan to continue to strike while the iron is hot.
Meanwhile the Mariners head into the weekend’s game against the Sky Blues feeling somewhat refreshed having not played since they defeated Brisbane Roar on January 3.
Securing just their third win of the season, the Mariners have found it difficult to defend their Isuzu UTE A-League Championship this campaign and are currently sat in 9th position, four points outside the finals places.
However, with striker Ryan Edmondson now fit again and experienced Socceroo Trent Sainsbury able to get a consistent run of games under his belt following injury, head coach Mark Jackson will be hoping his side can now secure another result against Sydney FC having beaten them 2-1 back in December.
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Perth Glory v Auckland FC
Saturday, January 11 – HBF Park, 9:45pm AEDT
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Since snapping a 19-game winless run with a victory over Brisbane Roar in late December, Perth Glory have slipped back into old ways with three defeats on the bounce heading into Round 13.
Sydney FC winger Joe Lolley ran riot against Glory in a 3-0 win on Wednesday night, a result that heaped more pressure on Perth head coach David Zdrilic who has registered just one win and two draws in his first 12 league games at the helm.
Zdrilic brought star striker and captain Adam Taggart off at half-time of the 3-0 loss to Sydney and explained post-game that it was merely a precautionary change to preserve his striker for the quick turnaround against the Black Knights.
For Auckland FC, the trip to Western Australia will be the furthest Steve Corica and his side have had to travel so far in their short existence.
Labelled the ‘New Distance Derby’ by some, the Black Knights left Auckland on Wednesday morning in order to get to Perth for Wednesday night, purely to give themselves plenty of time to adjust to the time difference.
To put things into perspective, the game will kick off at 6:45pm local time which is actually 11:45pm in New Zealand on Saturday night.
On the pitch, Auckland FC arrive in Western Australia having most recently drawn 0-0 with Melbourne Victory on New Year’s Day and they could find themselves knocked off top spot by the time kick off comes should either Adelaide United or Melbourne City win their respective matches.
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Newcastle Jets v Macarthur Bulls
Sunday, January 12 – McDonald Jones Stadium, 5:00pm AEDT
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Rob Stanton’s Newcastle Jets will have a spring in their step heading into Sunday’s clash against the Bulls having secured their third win of the season.
Sat 11th on the ladder, a solitary strike from off-season signing Lachie Rose proved to be the difference between the Jets and Brisbane Roar on Tuesday night and Newcastle will now be aiming to bag their first home win of the campaign.
Something that will give them added belief though is the fact they’ve already beaten Mile Sterjovski’s side once this season; a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Campbelltown Sports Stadium thanks to a brace from winger Eli Adams.
Macarthur on the other hand make the trip up to Newcastle still reeling from their late defeat to Adelaide United in Round 12.
Leading 1-0 at the 80th minute mark care of a brilliant header from Valere Germain, the Bulls then conceded two late goals to leave their home ground empty handed and with it, miss out on the opportunity to go second on the ladder.
However it’s not all doom and gloom for the Bulls given they were on a run of three wins from four matches before that shock loss to Adelaide and in winger Jed Drew they have one of the competition’s most in-form players.
Along with teammate Marin Jakolis, Drew has registered five goals and five assists in 10 games this season and when you add in another five goals and one assist from Germain, the Bulls certainly have the firepower to blow any side away.
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