Kenny Lowe’s Glory can heap even more pressure on the win-less reigning champions when a wounded Perth host a desperate Adelaide United in Harvey Norman Friday Night Football.
Friday, 18 November 2016
Perth Glory v Adelaide United
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:00PM (Local) (10:00PM (AEDT))
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 9.50pm (AEDT), and Sky Sport 4 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 891 ABC Adelaide & ABC Local Radio South Australia, 720 ABC Perth & ABC Local Radio Western Australia, Grandstand Digital, online and via the app, EON Sports Radio (eonsportsradio.com)
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvADL
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Rhys WILLIAMS, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (c), 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 13.Nicholas FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 16.Joe MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Aryn WILLIAMS, 22.Adam TAGGART, 23.Kosta PETRATOS, 24.Milan SMILJANIC, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 18.Mitch OXBORROW (promoted), 19.Josh RISDON (return from international duty), 22.Adam TAGGART (promoted)
Outs: 7.Joel CHIANESE (omitted)
Unavailable: Nil
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) (c), 3.Iacopo LA ROCCA, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 5.Taylor REGAN, 8.ISAÍAS, 9.Sergi GUARDIOLA, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 14.George MELLS, 15.Ben WARLAND, 16.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 17.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 18.Riley McGREE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.John HALL (gk), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Ryan KITTO, 24.Jordan O’DOHERTY, 25.James HOLLAND
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Taylor REGAN (promoted), 14.George MELLS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 7.HENRIQUE (knee – 3-4 weeks), 11.Sergio CIRIO (knee – 3-4 weeks), 23.Jordan ELSEY (knee – season)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
Things can change quickly in the Hyundai A-League.
And that’s what both of these out-of-sorts sides will be hoping for heading into this Harvey Norman Friday night clash in the West.
Glory is winless in their last three and come into this one on the back of a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Sydney FC on Sunday.
It’s been even grimmer reading for champions Adelaide, who are at the bottom of the Hyundai A-League table and still searching for their first victory of the campaign. Something’s got to give at nib.
It was a win against Glory (in Round 9 at Coopers Stadium) which started the Reds’ surge to last season’s title and coach Gui Amor will be hoping for something similar.
To be fair, Adelaide’s form hasn’t been as bad as their results suggest. They’ve played some excellent stuff at times and with a bit more luck they would have had a couple of wins already.
Injuries have been their biggest issue with attackers Henrique and Sergio Cirio still a few weeks away from a return.
For Glory, it will be interesting to see how they respond after the shellacking they copped at the hands of the Sky Blues.
The players will be happy it’s a short turnaround between matches, desperate to get back out there to make amends for their error-riddled performance.
Right-back Josh Risdon returns after Caltex Socceroos duty (he didn’t play so should be relatively fresh) and it will be interesting to see how many more changes Kenny Lowe makes to his squad.
This should be a full-blooded clash full of desperation.
OPTA DATA
Hyundai A-League Round 7 stats
ROUTE TO GOAL
Glory shipped four goals last time out so Kenny is likely to make some changes to stiffen up his back four.
The Dino Djulbic at right-back experiment didn’t work, with Risdon to slot in there while Shane Lowry came off the bench last week and must be pushing for a start centrally.
It should stiffen Glory’s defences.
Adelaide haven’t been able to score more than one goal in a match at any time this season, putting the pressure on their own back four to keep it tight.
That won’t be easy against a Glory side with so much attacking threat. Keogh missed a couple of great chances last Sunday and rarely fluffs his lines two games in a row.
And you also get the feeling Johnny Warren Medal winner Castro is on the verge of putting a quality 90-minute performance together.
For the Reds, Spanish striker Sergi Guardiola has now scored in three straight games and looks a gem. He not only is taking his chances now but his play with the ball at his feet is superb.
But the key for the visitors could be Marcelo Carrusca. They were a different team with him from that start last weekend and as his fitness improves, so will Adelaide’s hopes of ending their barren run.
Look for Gui Amor’s side to try and attack Perth on the flanks with the speed and youthful exuberance of Ryan Kitto and Jordan O’Doherty.
WHO’S BEEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT THIS WEEK?
Rostyn Griffiths. The Glory skipper was involved in a minor spat with coach Kenny Lowe last weekend and will be extra motivated to prove a point in this one. Expect his challenges in the middle of the park to have some extra bite on Friday night.
FORM LINES (last five games)
Glory: WWLDL
Reds: LLLLD
PREDICTION
Perth Glory 2-2 Adelaide United
