Round 17 of the Isuzu UTE A-League season is upon us! Ahead of the action getting underway, aleagues.com.au previews all six of the contests.
Buy tickets to Isuzu UTE A-League HERE!
Friday, 7:45pm AEDT: Western United v Newcastle Jets
All eyes will be on Golden Boot contender Apostolos Stamatelopoulos at AAMI Park.
Stamatelopoulos has been in red-hot form for Newcastle Jets, scoring five goals across his last four Isuzu UTE A-League games as well as supplying one assist in that span. He has scored 13 goals this season which is the joint third-most of any Jets player in a single campaign (Adam Taggart – 16 in 2013-14, Joel Griffiths – 14 in 2007-08) and on track to break the record.
The Jets star will be hoping for a better time out against his former club, having been sent off in December’s 2-0 win over Western United.
Both sides will be out to return to winning ways on Friday night.
Western United are bottom amid a six-game winless streak, while 10th-placed Newcastle Jets are in the midst of a three-match drought.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Western United: L – D – L – D – L
- Newcastle Jets: L – W – L – D – D
POSITION
- Western United: 12th
- Newcastle Jets: 10th
Opta stats
- Newcastle Jets have won their last two A-League Men games against Western United, keeping a clean sheet in each win, after being winless in their six previous meetings in the competition (D2 L4); the Jets have never scored more than one goal in a game against Western United in Victoria.
- Western United have won three of their last five A-League Men games at AAMI Park (L2) after winning only two of their previous nine games at the venue (D2 L5); they’ve neither kept nor conceded a clean sheet across their last six games at the venue.
- Newcastle Jets have won only two of their last 14 A-League Men games away from McDonald Jones Stadium (D4 L8); though, they earned a 1-0 win over Western United at Mars Stadium in their last game in Victoria (11 November 2023).
- Newcastle Jets (13) and Western United (10) have hit the woodwork more times than any other teams in the 2023-24 A-League Men season; in fact, each team has made 74 shots on target this campaign which is more than only Wellington Phoenix (73).
- Western United (3) have made the fewest errors leading to a shot at goal conceded of any team this season while Newcastle Jets (12) have made the joint-most of any team alongside Brisbane Roar.
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, 6:00pm AEDT: Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Adelaide United have the chance to achieve a nine-year first when they visit Allianz Stadium to face Sydney FC.
Carl Veart’s Adelaide are winless in their past three matches, while they have only won one of their last five games but the Reds did beat the Sky Blues 4-3 in their most recent clash last month thanks to a Hiroshi Ibusuki hat-trick.
If Adelaide get the better of Sydney again, it will be the first time the South Australian outfit have won back-to-back games against their rivals since April 2015.
But Sydney are in good form, having extended their unbeaten run to four matches courtesy of last week’s shock win over red-hot Central Coast Mariners.
The Sky Blues, who became the first Isuzu UTE A-League team to reach 800 goals, have scored at least three goals in each of their last four A-League Men games at Allianz Stadium (W3 L1) after being kept goalless in three of their previous four games at the venue.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Sydney FC: L – W – D – D – W
- Adelaide United: D – W – L – L – D
POSITION
- Sydney FC: 6th
- Adelaide United: 9th
Opta stats
- Adelaide United have won only two of their last 11 A-League Men games (D3 L6) despite scoring three or more goals in a game four times in that span; though, one of their two wins in that stretch came against Sydney FC (4-3 in January 2024).
- Sydney FC (19.4) and Adelaide United (18.2) have made more shots at goal per game than any other teams this season; though, the Sky Blues (50%) have a higher shooting accuracy than the Reds (47%).
- Adelaide United have made 21.6 crosses per game this A-League Men season, the second most of any team in the competition, while their 26% accuracy is the third highest of any team.
- Joe Lolley (Sydney FC) has been directly involved in six goals across his last two games against Adelaide United in the A-League Men (4 goals, 2 assists); in fact, his five career goals against the Reds are his most against any team in the competition.
- Hiroshi Ibusuki (Adelaide United) has scored six goals across his last six games in the A-League Men including a hat-trick in his last game against Sydney FC in the competition (13 January 2024).
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, 7:45pm AEDT: Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory
Who is ready for the latest instalment of the Melbourne Derby?
Saturday night’s showdown will pit two Championship hopefuls against each other, with both craving wins.
Melbourne City – who are two points adrift of the top six – have conceded nine goals in two matches following defeats at the hands of Perth Glory (4-2) and Brisbane Roar (5-1). The three-time reigning premiers have lost four of their last five A-League Men games (W1) including their last two in a row.
A third straight defeat would equal the club’s longest losing streak in the competition since losing five in a row from October to November in 2013.
Victory started the season 15 games unbeaten but they have now dropped down to fourth in the table, six points behind leaders Wellington Phoenix on the back of last week’s 1-0 upset at the hands of Macarthur FC. They are now five matches without maximum points.
Tony Popovic’s Victory – who are two goals away from becoming the second team to score 800 goals in the history of the Isuzu UTE A-League – will now look to avoid back-to-back losses in the competition for the first time since March 2023.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Melbourne City: L – L – W – L – L
- Melbourne Victory: D – D – D – D – L
POSITION
- Melbourne City: 7th
- Melbourne Victory: 4th
Opta stats
- Melbourne City have lost only one of their last four A-League Men games against Melbourne Victory (W2 D1), scoring exactly two goals in three successive games against Victory before they held out for a nil-all draw in their most recent encounter.
- Melbourne City have lost only one of their last 16 A-League Men games at AAMI Park (W11 D4) and have won their last three in a row by a combined score of 11-2 while Melbourne Victory have won only three of their last nine games at the venue (D4 L2).
- Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory) has an 87% accuracy from 183 passes ending in the final third this season, the second-highest accuracy of any player to have made at least 100 passes ending in the final third this season (Rai Marchan –89%).
- Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) has not scored a goal in his last six A-League Men games, the longest goal drought of his career since an 11-game stretch from November 2013 to March 2014; though, Maclaren’s 10 career goals in the Melbourne Derby are more than any other player.
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, 9:45pm AEDT: Perth Glory v Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar have the chance to do something they have not managed against Perth Glory since 2009.
The Roar have won five of their last seven A-League Men games against the Glory (L2)
including their last two in a row each by a score of 2-1 on the day. The last time they won more than two successive matches versus Perth was a four-game streak between December 2007 and January 2009.
DT38: Special way Perth Glory are honouring late Aussie EPL prodigy’s legacy this weekend
Brisbane make the trip to HBF Park buoyed by their incredible 5-1 rout of Melbourne City in Round 16 – Ruben Zadkovich’s first game at the helm.
Saturday night’s contest will be a reunion for Zadkovich and Perth after he departed the Glory at the end of 2022-23.
Perth carry a four-game undefeated run into the match and confidence that they can score goals thanks to wins over City and Western Sydney Wanderers and draws away to Adelaide and Macarthur.
The Glory have scored at least two goals in each of their last nine games – their longest ever multi-goal streak in the competition. They have also scored 32 goals so far in 2023-24 – the joint-most of any team and 5.1 higher than their Expected Goals – only Wellington (+5.2) have outpaced their xG by more than Perth this term.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Perth Glory: L – W – D – W – D
- Brisbane Roar: L – L – L – D – W
POSITION
- Perth Glory: 11th
- Brisbane Roar: 8th
Opta stats
- Brisbane Roar have lost four of their last five A-League Men games outside Queensland (W1) including their last two in a row; they have conceded an average of 3.4 goals per game across those last five fixtures.
- Perth Glory have made 36% of their passes forward up the pitch this A-League Men season, the highest proportion of any team in the competition and three percentage points higher than Brisbane Roar.
- Brisbane Roar have forced 10.7 high turnovers per game this A-League Men season, the second most of any team, while no team has scored more goals from high turnovers than the Roar (6) this campaign.
- David Williams (Perth Glory) has been directly involved in one goal in each of his last five A-League Men games (3 goals, 2 assists) but has scored only one goal in his last nine games against Brisbane Roar. He is also one goal away from 50 A-Leagues goals.
- Carlo Armiento (Brisbane Roar) has made 16 shots at goal when playing as a substitute this season, the joint-most of any player in the competition; though, he’s yet to score a goal this season.
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, 5:00pm AEDT: Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix
Campbelltown will be the place to be when third-placed Macarthur FC host league-leading Wellington Phoenix.
Macarthur are undefeated in their last seven A-League Men games (W3 D4), their joint-longest streak in competition history; in fact, they’ve won their last two games in a row and will be looking to win three straight for the first time since December 2021.
That is thanks to last week’s win over Melbourne Victory, while the Bulls also booked their spot in the AFC Cup Zonal Finals against Central Coast Mariners via Tuesday night’s win over Sabah FC.
A win would bring Macarthur within two points of Giancarlo Italiano’s Wellington, who are five games without defeat. Although, the Phoenix could potentially end the weekend eight points clear.
Much has been made about the Phoenix’s attack and football this season, but they will be relying on a defensive setup that could earn the team a 14-year first.
Wellington have kept back-to-back clean sheets in their last two A-League Men games while the last and only previous time they kept more in succession was a three-game stretch from January to February in 2010; in fact, their seven clean sheets this season are their most in a campaign since 2016-17 (eight).
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Macarthur FC: D – W – D – W – W
- Wellington Phoenix: D – W – D – D – W
POSITION
- Macarthur FC: 3rd
- Wellington Phoenix: 1st
Opta stats
- Macarthur FC have won four games against teams currently in the top half of the standings in 2023-24 (P7 W4 D1 L2), more than any other team in the competition, while Wellington Phoenix have won only two of their seven such fixtures (D4 L1).
- Wellington Phoenix have won four of their last five A-League Men games against Macarthur FC including their last two in a row; in fact, they’ve kept a clean sheet in each of their last two games against the Bulls after doing so only once in all their previous seven meetings.
- Macarthur FC have scored the opening goal of the game on 11 occasions in the 2023-24 A-League Men season, more than any other team in the competition; they’ve picked up seven wins and three draws from those games (L1).
- Wellington Phoenix (16%) and Macarthur FC (15%) have the highest and third-highest shot conversion rates of any teams this season; though, the Bulls (55%) also have the highest shooting accuracy of any team (Wellington Phoenix 53%).
- Alex Paulsen (Wellington Phoenix) has the highest save percentage (80%), has made the most catches (22) and punches (17), and has prevented the most goals (8.8; 18 goals conceded, 26.8 xGOT) of any goalkeeper in the 2023-24 A-League Men season.
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, 5:00pm AEDT: Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers
Will Central Coast Mariners continue their strong run of form against Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday evening?
While the second-placed Mariners saw their unbeaten run ended by Sydney FC last week, Central Coast have lost only one of their last seven A-League Men games against Western Sydney (W3 D3) and logged a 1-0 win when they last met in the competition (6 January 2024).
The Wanderers make the trek to Gosford having won just one of their last four games and defensively stability has been a problem, despite their ability to score.
Western Sydney have scored and conceded three more or goals in a game three times this A League Men campaign including in each of their last two games – the most times they have done so in a single campaign following last week’s wild 3-3 draw with Newcastle Jets.
Key to any Western Sydney success will be in-form Lachlan Brook, who has scored five goals across his last three A-League Men games, scoring twice in each of his last two games; only two players in competition history have scored 2+ goals in more than two consecutive games (Jamie Maclaren – 4 games in 2019, Roy Krishna – 3 games in 2019).
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Central Coast Mariners: W – W – W – D – L
- Western Sydney Wanderers: W – L – W – L – D
POSITION
- Central Coast Mariners: 2nd
- Western Sydney Wanderers: 5th
Opta stats
- Central Coast Mariners were defeated 3-1 by Sydney FC in their most recent A-League Men game at Industree Group Stadium, snapping a four-game winning streak at the venue; they have scored at least one goal in each of their last 24 games at the venue.
- Central Coast Mariners (46% of 50 big chances) and Western Sydney Wanderers (44% of 39) have the highest big chance conversion rate of any teams this season.
- Western Sydney Wanderers have scored the opening goal of the game seven times this A-League Men season and are the only team with a 100% win rate when scoring the first goal this campaign.
- Jacob Farrell (Central Coast Mariners) has made a league-high 43 interceptions in 2023-24; in fact, he has made 19 interceptions across his last six games at Industree Group Stadium.
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
