Round 19 of the Liberty A-League season is upon us! Ahead of the action getting underway, aleagues.com.au previews all six of the contests.
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INS & OUTS: Young Matildas star returns after four-month absence
Saturday, 7:00pm AEDT: Sydney FC v Western United
This is not only a Grand Final rematch. It is a blockbuster showdown pitting third against first in the standings.
Western United lost to Sydney FC in last season’s decider as the Sky Blues scooped the Premiership and Championship double, however the Victorian outfit are flying high and loom as the team to beat.
Kat Smith has transformed Western since replacing Mark Torcaso and they are currently riding a six-match winning streak to occupy top spot. A seventh consecutive win would equal their longest winning run in the history of the competition (W7 from November 2022 to January 2023).
Sydney have won three of their last four matches against Western (L1), including each of their last two; the victorious team in each of those four meetings has kept a clean sheet on the day.
The Sky Blues, who can move within two points of Western with a game in hand, are also coming off a derby triumph over Western United.
LEAGUE POSITION
- Sydney FC: 3rd
- Western United: 1st
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Sydney FC: W – D – W – D – W
- Western United: W – W – W – W – W
OPTA STATS
- Western United have scored 21 big scoring chances this season, the joint-most of any team in the competition (also Melbourne City – 21).
- Sydney FC have kept eight clean sheets this A-League Women season, the most of any team in the competition; only once have the Sky Blues logged more in a single campaign in A-League Women history (10 in 2021-2022).
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Friday, 10:00pm AEDT: Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
It’s Distance Derby time in the Liberty A-League and both sides could do with a win coming into Round 19.
A magnificent stoppage-time save from Morgan Aquino ensured Perth Glory secured a hard-earned point against Newcastle Jets last time out.
The draw leaves Perth sat seventh on the ladder, level on points with Newcastle in sixth however they remain outside the finals places by virtue of having won one game fewer than the Jets.
Alex Epakis’ side have now gone eight games without a win and look as though they will be fighting with the Jets, Western Sydney Wanderers, Brisbane Roar and potentially Wellington Phoenix for that all-important sixth place.
A 5-3 defeat to Wellington Phoenix in Round 18 was their third-successive loss but crucially, it means Paul Temple’s have still only picked up one away win all season – a 3-0 triumph over the Wanderers in Round 2.
Despite that horror run of form Wellington’s early season form means they’re still within ear shot of the finals places and whilst they do find themselves in tenth position, a win on Friday night would leave them just two points behind Glory on the ladder.
Temple will also be hoping his side can secure back-to-back wins over Perth for the first time in competition history given they defeated the Western Australians 2-1 earlier in the campaign.
LEAGUE POSITION
- Perth Glory: 7th
- Wellington Phoenix: 10th
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Perth Glory: L – L – D – L – D
- Wellington Phoenix: L – W – L – L – L
OPTA STATS
- Perth Glory are winless in their last six A-League Women matches in Western Australia (D4 L2) and lost their most recent game in that span (1-3 v Central Coast Mariners – 18 February 2024); the Glory will be looking to avoid back-to-back defeats in their home state for the first time since December 2022.
- Mariana Speckmaier (Wellington Phoenix) has scored five goals in her last four A-League Women matches, scoring at least one goal in each of those four games; although, she did not score a goal in her only previous meeting against Perth Glory in the competition (25 November 2023).
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Saturday, 3:00pm AEDT: Canberra United v Western Sydney Wanderers
With Michelle Heyman in such glorious goalscoring form, Canberra will be confident of putting the Wanderers to the sword at McKellar Park on Saturday afternoon.
Having bagged five goals in two games on her recent Matildas comeback, the league’s leading goalscorer came off the bench in Canberra’s Round 18 defeat to Western United and still managed to add to her tally late on, a total that now sits at 13 goals for the season.
However it’s at the other end of the pitch where Njegosh Popovich’s team are having problems with the four goals shipped against Western meaning they’ve now conceded 37 times this campaign, the worst defence in the competition.
The good news is Canberra are unbeaten in their last four games against Western Sydney (W3, D1) and better still, the Wanderers have lost their last two away games.
Despite registering four wins in a row between December 31 and January 20, the Wanderers have suffered a form slump at the wrong time and have subsequently lost four of their last five matches, culminating in a 2-0 defeat in the Sydney Derby.
On a more positive note, defender Vicky Bruce will be available for the trip to the nation’s capital though after having her red card against Sydney FC successfully overturned.
LEAGUE POSITION
- Canberra United: 12th
- Western Sydney Wanderers: 8th
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Canberra United: L – L – W – D – L
- Western Sydney Wanderers: L – L – W – L – L
OPTA STATS
- Vesna Milivojevic (Canberra United) has contested 230 duels in the 2023-24 A-League Women season, 15 more than any other player in the competition and 50 more than Western Sydney Wanderers FC’s best Sophie Harding (180).
- Western Sydney Wanderers FC have played 47% of their total passes forward (2782/5963) in the 2023-24 A-League Women season, the highest rate of any team in the competition.
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Saturday, 4:00pm AEDT: Brisbane Roar v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday’s match-up at Ballymore Stadium sees Brisbane Roar host Central Coast Mariners where a win for Alex Smith’s Roar would push them firmly into finals contention.
As it stands, Brisbane head into Round 19 in ninth spot however a win could potentially leave them just a point outside the top six come the end of the round.
Their finals chances were given a big boost in Round 18 where two goals in two minutes from Tameka Yallop and Sharn Freier helped fire them to an impressive win over title contenders Melbourne City.
However they welcome a Central Coast side to Queensland that’s in excellent form having won three of their last five matches, the most recent of which being a comfortable 2-0 win over Adelaide United.
Adding to the Mariners’ already high confidence levels will be the fact they’ve won five of their last six games away from Industree Group Stadium.
Central Coast have developed a clinical edge during that time, scoring at least two goals in each of those five wins.
Should other results go their way, a win for the Mariners could also see them jump from fifth place on the ladder to second come the end of the round.
LEAGUE POSITION
- Brisbane Roar: 9th
- Central Coast Mariners: 5th
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Brisbane Roar: W – L – L – L – W
- Central Coast Mariners: W – L – D – W – W
OPTA STATS
- Jordan Silkowitz (Brisbane Roar) has made 138 successful long passes this A-League Women season, the joint-most of any player in the competition (also Isobel Nino – 138 for Newcastle Jets).
- Isabel Gomez (Central Coast Mariners) has made 49 successful tackles in the 2023-24 A-League Women season, the most of any player in the competition.
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Sunday, 5:00pm AEDT: Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets
Can Melbourne City stop the rot?
The Championship contenders have gone five games without a win to see them drop from top spot into second position, behind Western United after last week’s defeat away to Brisbane Roar.
But there is good news for City. They are undefeated in all their 14 matches against Newcastle Jets (W13 D1); it’s the most games any team has played against another without losing in the history of the competition.
The Jets currently occupy the sixth and remaining finals position in the standings and must buck an away trend if they are to take a step towards locking up a top-six berth – Newcastle have won only one of their last four matches on the road (L3), despite not trailing at half-time on the day in each of their last three games in that span (ahead once, level twice).
LEAGUE POSITION
- Melbourne City: 2nd
- Newcastle Jets: 6th
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Melbourne City: L – L – D – D – L
- Newcastle Jets: L – W – L – W – D
OPTA STATS
- Newcastle Jets have converted 61% of their big scoring chances (17/28) in 2023-24, the best rate of any team in the competition and 22 percentage points more than Melbourne City (21/54 – 39%).
- Melbourne City have a passing accuracy of 77% in the opposition half this season, 11 percentage points higher than any other team in the competition; only Canberra United (59%) have a lower rate in this category than Newcastle Jets (60%).
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7:30pm AEDT: Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
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The round concludes with a Pride Celebration match, which is also an ‘Original Rivalry’ between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory at Coopers Stadium.
This clash has been moved from Saturday to Sunday due to extreme heat forecast in South Australia.
Adelaide are second from bottom, though they have won two of their past five matches as they continue to show signs of improvement. The Reds have won three of their last four matches in South Australia (L1), including each of their last two – the last time Adelaide recorded a longer winning run in their home state was a three-match span from January to February in 2022.
Red-hot Victory head interstate, where they put their seven-game undefeated streak (W4 D3) on the line.
Victory have scored nine goals in their past two fixtures having beaten Wellington Phoenix 5-3 and Western Sydney Wanderers 4-0.
LEAGUE POSITION
- Adelaide United: 11th
- Melbourne Victory: 4th
FORM (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Adelaide United: L – W – W – D – L
- Melbourne Victory D – W – D – W – W
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