Another match with huge Finals Series ramifications kick-starts the action on Saturday as an out-of-sorts Adelaide United take on a buoyant Western United FC.
A couple of weeks ago the Reds had their eyes on a possible top-two finish as they had won four out of five matches.
But back-to-back defeats, including last week’s last-gasp 2-1 loss to Melbourne Victory, means Gertjan Verbeek’s men are now looking over their shoulders.
The Reds are currently in fifth spot but just three points ahead of Saturday’s opponents United (seventh) and Western Sydney Wanderers (eighth).
After going all of February without a goal or win, Mark Rudan’s troops bounced back to form on Sunday as they thrashed Central Coast Mariners 6-2 in Geelong.
And there could be plenty of goals in this one with the two sides playing out a seven-goal thriller back in January, which was won by Adelaide 4-3.
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Kick off: 5.00pm (AEDT)
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: ABC, FOX Sports
Stream: ABC iView, MyFootball App, Kayo Sports
BEST XI: Hyundai A-League Team of the Week – Round 21
HOW TO WATCH: Every Hyundai A-League match in Round 22
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Team news
Adelaide United squad: 2.Michael MARRONE, 4.Ryan STRAIN, Michaël MARIA, 6.Stefan MAUK, Ryan KITTO, 8.Riley McGREE, 10.James TROISI, 11.Kristian OPSETH, 14.George BLACKWOOD 17.Nikola MILEUSNIĆ, 18.Lachlan BROOK, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Michael JAKOBSEN (c), 23.Jordan ELSEY, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 7.Louis D’ARRIGO, 29.Kusini YENGI, 31.Mirko BOLAND, 40.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk), 49.Mohamed TOURE **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Ryan STRAIN (returns from injury), 6.Stefan MAUK (returns from injury), 18.Lachlan BROOK (return from international duty), 26.Ben HALLORAN (returns from injury)
Outs: N/A
Unavailable: 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (knee – season), 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE (adductor – 1 week), 35.Al Hassan TOURE (foot – 5 weeks)
Western United FC squad: 1.Filip KURTO (gk), 4.Andrew DURANTE, 5.Dylan PIERIAS, 6. Tomoki IMAI, 7.Valentino YUEL, 9.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 10. Steven LUSTICA 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Dario JERTEC, 14.Max BURGESS, 17.Joshua CAVALLO, 18.Besart BERISHA, 19.Josh RISDON, 22.Tomislav USKOK, 23.Alessandro DIAMANTI (c), 24.Thiel IRADUKUNDA, 25.Luke DUZEL, 27.Jerry SKOTADIS, 28.Oskar DILLON, 30.Ryan SCOTT (gk) **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Valentino YUEL (promoted), 24.Thiel IRADUKUNDA (promoted), 28.Oskar DILLON (promoted)
Outs: 15. Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS (Not Selected)
Unavailable: 2.Aaron CALVER (foot – 2 weeks) 8.Panagiotis KONE (arm) 13.Ivan VUJICA (osteitis ), 20.James DELIANOV (gk) (knee, season), 3.Brendan HAMILL (knee, season)
Did you know?
- Adelaide United have won their last six Hyundai A-League matches on the bounce at Coopers Stadium against Victorian opposition, conceding just two goals in that time.
- Western United have scored 14 Hyundai A-League goals so far in 2020, three more than their Expected Goals value suggests they should’ve – the largest positive disparity of any team in the competition.
- The Reds have made eight errors leading to shots this Hyundai A-League campaign – the joint-most of any team in the competition (also Central Coast Mariners); four of those errors have resulted in a goal conceded.
- United striker Besart Berisha has scored eight goals in his last eight Hyundai A-League games against Adelaide United; indeed, his career tally of 19 goals against them is the second-most of any player against single team.