Much like the league ladder, it’s tense at the top of the Fantasy A-League leader-board with some surprising results and performances in recent weeks really shaking up the competition.
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Two clubs not accustomed to finding themselves outside the top six will kick-off the weekend action tonight when the Mariners host the Roar in Harvey Norman Friday Night Football.
The reigning champions are looking to make it three wins on the trot in Gosford, while Phil Moss will have a juggling act on his hands with an eye on Tuesday’s crucial AFC Champions League qualifier.
Thomas Broich has started to recapture some of his vintage form since returning to the Roar line-up and has been a popular acquisition among Fantasy A-League managers. The German has scored some big points in the last fortnight courtesy of last week’s match winning goal and some assists.
Exactly who will start for the yellow and navy is hard to predict so be careful selecting too many players from their squad.
Another huge triple-header awaits on Saturday with the Phoenix and Melbourne City FC kicking things off in New Zealand as both sides look to bounce back from disappointing results last week.
It looks like the strikers will have a large say in this one, with Nathan Burns looking to recapture the goal-scoring form that saw him selected in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup squad. Meanwhile City marquee Robert Koren will also be aiming to add to his tally having not scored since the blistering hat-trick in his starting debut.
The Jets and Wanderers will both be desperate for points when they meet at Hunter Stadium. With both sides struggling this campaign the Scout thinks defence will play more of a key role in this one.
While it may be difficult to select exactly which back-four will line up for the Jets and Wanderers, there is certainly some value there in the transfer market and we expect at least one of these sides to keep a valuable clean sheet.
Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have the potential to reprise the six-goal thriller the last time the sides met with both teams firing post the Asian Cup break.
The Sky Blues are without their first-choice central pairing after Petkovic and Faty both picked up red cards last week, while the Victory welcome back skipper Mark Milligan from suspension.
Adelaide and Perth players have led the way this season in Fantasy point scoring and the league leaders will be hoping to get some pay-back at Coopers Stadium on Sunday having been beaten by the Reds three times already this season.
Managers will be hoping Spanish ace Marcelo Carrusca makes a return from injury in Josep Gombau’s side, while Andy Keogh will again be key with the Irishman having a hand in over half of the Glory’s goals this season.
