Isuzu UTE A-League R14 Preview: Big Blue sets tone for huge weekend as defending champs reach milestone

It's a blockbuster round in the Isuzu UTE A-League with doubleheaders headlining round 14.

Round 14 in the Isuzu UTE A-League is here, with a Big Blue headlining the weekend’s action.

Get set for Round 14 below, with all the team news, broadcast and ticket information.

Buy tickets to Isuzu UTE A-League HERE!

Thursday, 7:45pm AEDT: Melbourne City v Adelaide United

The round gets underway at AAMI Park, where three-time reigning premiers Melbourne City are out to arrest their slump following back-to-back defeats.

Defeats to Western Sydney Wanderers and defending champions Central Coast Mariners have left City – without Hamza Sakhi following his sudden departure from Melbourne midweek – with just two wins in six league matches, although they are only outside the top six on games won.

Revenge will be on the minds of City, who were humbled 6-0 by Adelaide the last time these sides met in Round 2.

Adelaide are back in action after watching on over the weekend due to their fixture against Western United being rescheduled.

FORM LINE

  • Melbourne City: D – W – W – L – L
  • Adelaide United: W – L – D – D – W

POSITION

  • Melbourne City: 8th
  • Adelaide United: 7th

OPTA STATS

  • Adelaide United have won their last two A-League Men games against Melbourne City, outscoring them 10-2 across that stretch including a fixture-record 6-0 win in their most recent clash; though, the Reds have never won more than two straight games against City in the competition.
  • Melbourne City have landed 29 shots on target from outside the box this season, more than any other team in the competition and 10 more than Adelaide United; City have scored five goals via this range while the Reds have scored three.

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Friday, 7:45pm AEDT: Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC

All eyes will be on AAMI Park for the latest instalment of the Big Blue.

Melbourne Victory are the only undefeated team remaining through 13 rounds and they will be looking to make it three straight wins over rivals Sydney FC.

Sydney also enter the contest in good form, having won four of their past five fixtures. Sydney have scored 16 goals across their last five games (W4 L1), twice as many as they had scored in all their previous eight games in the 2023-24 season (8 goals, W2 L6)

FORM LINE

  • Melbourne Victory: D – W – W – D – D
  • Sydney FC: W – W – W – L – W

POSITION

  • Melbourne Victory: 2nd
  • Sydney FC: 6th

OPTA STATS

  • Melbourne Victory have won four of their last six A-League Men games against Sydney FC including their last two on the bounce; the last time they won more in succession against the Sky Blues was a three-game streak from April 2018 to January 2019.
  • Melbourne Victory are unbeaten in the 2023-24 A-League Men season (W6 D7); only once in competition history has any team begun a season with a longer unbeaten streak (19 games – Sydney FC in 2016-17, W14 D5).
  • Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC have each scored 796 goals in the A-League Men and are each just four goals shy of becoming the first team in competition history to reach 800 goals scored; each team has scored 4+ goals three times in the history of this fixture.

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Saturday, 5:00pm AEDT: Western United v Western Sydney Wanderers

Hobart is the venue for this latest reunion between Western United and Western Sydney Wanderers boss Marko Rudan.

Rudan spent two years in charge of Western United before being appointed by the Wanderers in 2022.

John Aloisi’s Western United are four points adrift at the foot of the table amid their four-game winless run. Meanwhile, the third-placed Wanderers have endured a topsy-turvy streak with three losses to go with two wins.

FORM LINE

  • Western United: W – L – L – L – D
  • Western Sydney Wanderers: L – W – L – W – L

POSITION

  • Western United: 12th
  • Western Sydney Wanderers: 3rd

OPTA STATS

  • Western Sydney Wanderers FC have a 100% win rate when they’ve scored the opening goal of the game on the day in the 2023-24 A-League Men season (W6) while Western United have won only one of their four games when they’ve scored first on the day (D1 L2).
  • Western United FC have lost only one of their seven A-League Men games in Tasmania (W5 D1), keeping five clean sheets in that term; in fact, their only previous game at North Hobart Oval ended in a 1-0 win against Sydney FC.

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Saturday, 6:00pm AEDT: Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix

Can the youthful Newcastle Jets stun Wellington Phoenix again?

The Jets were the first side to beat league-leading Wellington this season when they prevailed 3-0 at the start of December.

Newcastle welcome the Phoenix to McDonald Jones Stadium on the back of a 3-1 win over Brisbane Roar.

Giancarlo Italiano’s Phoenix are top of the table on games won following last week’s 1-1 draw in the top-of-the-table blockbuster against Victory. Wellington – unbeaten in three matches – will be without suspended star Tim Payne.

FORM LINE

  • Newcastle Jets: W – D – L – L – W
  • Wellington Phoenix: W – L – D – W – D

POSITION

  • Newcastle Jets: 10th
  • Wellington Phoenix: 1st

OPTA STATS

  • Newcastle Jets have won six of their last nine A-League Men games against Wellington Phoenix (L3) including a 3-0 win when they met earlier this season; in fact, the Jets have won each of their last three games against the Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium, scoring at least three goals in each of those wins.
  • Jets star Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has been directly involved in seven goals in his last seven A-League Men games, scoring six goals and making one assist in that term; indeed, he scored two goals in his last game against Wellington Phoenix in the competition.

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Saturday, 7:45pm AEDT: Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar

Central Coast Mariners could take another step towards history when they face Brisbane Roar on Saturday night.

The red-hot Mariners are undefeated in nine games and as they prepare for their 500th Isuzu UTE A-League fixture, another match without defeat would take that streak to 10 matches. Only on two other occasions have Central Coast managed longer runs – 12 (2005-06 W6 D6) and 15 (2011-12 W12 D3).

They are also just four points off top spot.

As for Ben Cahn’s Brisbane Roar, they are trending in the opposite direction following four defeats in five outings. To make matters trickier, they will be without star Irishman Jay O’Shea (suspended).

FORM LINE

  • Central Coast Mariners: W – W – W – D – W
  • Brisbane Roar: L – L – W – L – L

POSITION

  • Central Coast Mariners: 4th
  • Brisbane Roar: 9th

OPTA STATS

  • This will be the Central Coast Mariners 500th game and Brisbane Roar’s 500th game in the A-League Men and it will be the 61st game between the two teams in the competition – the third most of any fixture (Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory – 63 games, Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC – 63 games).
  • Central Coast’s Ángel Torres has been directly involved in four goals in his last four A-League Men games at Industree Group Stadium (2 goals, 2 assists) and scored two goals in his most recent game against Brisbane Roar.

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Sunday, 5:00pm AEDT: Macarthur FC v Perth Glory

If their last meeting is anything to go by, Sunday is set to be another thriller between Macarthur FC and Perth Glory.

Just before Christmas, Perth overturned a two-goal deficit to stun Macarthur 3-2 with a 93rd-minute winner at HBF Park.

The Glory travel to Campbelltown after a morale-boosting 2-1 victory at Western Sydney Wanderers, which snapped a 15-month drought on the road.

Macarthur are riding a four-match undefeated streak, which has seen star captain Ulises Davila score four goals – including a hat-trick.

FORM LINE

  • Macarthur FC: L – D – D – D – W
  • Perth Glory: W – L – L – L – W

POSITION

  • Macarthur FC: 5th
  • Perth Glory: 11th

OPTA STATS

  • Perth Glory’s 52.4% shooting accuracy this A-League Men campaign is their highest in a season since 2018-19 (53.6%) while their 78.8% pass accuracy is their lowest in a season since 2017-18 (76.2%).
  • Macarthur captain Ulises Dávila has scored four goals across his last two A-League Men games and has been directly involved in five goals in his last six games against the Perth Glory (2 goals, 3 assists).

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