Perth Glory’s club-record winning run has them on the cusp of the six but can they keep it going against the Hyundai A-League leaders at Wanderland? Get set for another Hyundai A-League blockbuster.
Friday, 26 February 2016
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Perth Glory
Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta
Kick-Off: 7:40 PM (Local) (7:40 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Strebre Delovski
Assistant Referee 1: James Tesoriero
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev
Fourth Official: Luke Withell
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.30pm (AEDT), SBS TWO from 7:30pm AEDT and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 702 ABC Sydney, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live. Crocmedia A-League Live (www.facebook.com/A-leagueLIVERadio).
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #WSWvPER
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Western Sydney Wanderers FC squad: 2.Shannon COLE, 3.Scott JAMIESON, 4.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5.Brendan HAMILL, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 7.Romeo CASTELEN, 8.DIMAS, 10.Dario VIDOSIC, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 12.Scott NEVILLE, 15.Kearyn BACCUS,16.Jaushua SOTIRIO, 17.ALBERTO, 18.ANDREU, 19.Mark BRIDGE, 20.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 21.Jacob PEPPER, 30.Liam REDDY (gk) **two to be omitted**
Ins: 17.ALBERTO (returns from suspension), 21.Jacob PEPPER (promoted)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: nil
Perth Glory squad: 1. Ante COVIC, 2. Alex GRANT, 3. Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 6. Dino DJULBIC, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18. Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 21. Kosta PETRATOS, 23.Krisztian VADOCZ, 29. Aryn WILLIAMS **two to be omitted**
Ins: 3. Marc WARREN, 6.Dino DJULBIC
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
It’s the Hyundai A-League leaders up against the competition’s in-form side. It doesn’t get much better for your Friday night football.
Kenny Lowe has his team purring with five wins in a row; a new club record.
Glory’s season looked done and dusted at the turn of the year but some excellent recruiting and stunning performances and now they appear good bets for the finals.
They are currently seventh but only one point behind both Sydney FC (sixth) and Melbourne Victory (fifth) who face each other this weekend.
It means a win for Glory and they will definitely end the weekend in the finals spots.
And you wouldn’t rule them out, despite their poor record at Wanderland and taking on a side desperate for the three points in their own fight for the Premiers Plate.
There’s been nothing lucky about Glory’s winning streak. They are playing some beautiful stuff and the goals are flowing.
The Wanderers have Glory to thank for putting them back in pole position for the Premiership, despite their 1-1 draw against Sydney FC last weekend.
Glory’s crushing win over Brisbane allowed Tony Popovic’s side to jump back to the summit on goal difference.
The Red and Black haven’t won any of their last three games but – the debacle against Wellington aside – have performed pretty well.
You would think they are now over their mini slump and will see this is a huge opportunity to halt the Glory juggernaut and also lay down a marker for their aspirations for the rest of the season.
Both sides are boosted by defensive reinforcements for this clash. Spaniard Alberto Aguilar has served his two-game ban and will come straight back into the starting side alongside skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
For Glory, Marc Warren – who was a late withdrawal last weekend – returns as does Dino Djulbic who has missed a large chunk of the season through injury.
OPTA DATA
- Western Sydney Wanderers have scored at least once in all 11 of their previous matches against Perth Glory in the Hyundai A-League.
- Perth Glory’s lone victory (from five attempts) on Wanderers home turf came in their final encounter last Hyundai A-League season, prevailing 2-1.
- The Wanderers have scored 14% of their goals from outside the box, the second-highest percentage of any team in the Hyundai A-League.
- After having never scored more than five goals in a match before this season, Perth Glory has become the second team in Hyundai A-League history to score six or more goals in a match more than once in a single season (Mariners 2012/13).
ROUTE TO GOAL
Perth is fast becoming the competition’s entertainers after notching an impressive 20 goals from their last six outings.
But no performance was more impressive than the 6-3 annihilation of Brisbane.
The beauty of that performance wasn’t just their efficiency in the attacking third but the fact they had six different goal-scorers. There are threats right through Kenny Lowe’s side.
Castro is the chief orchestrator, Marinkovic’s set-pieces are deadly, Harold’s finishing is starting to match his lightning speed, while Keogh is the ideal man leading the line.
And set pieces have become a major weapon for the boys from the west, with five of their six goals last weekend coming from dead-ball situations.
The best way for the Wanderers to quell Glory’s threats is to fight fire with fire and you can bet Popovic’s side will do just that.
Andreu and Dimas will need to dominate the midfield battle as they so often do, giving the home side the majority of possession and ability to control the flow of proceedings.
Finishing again cost the Wanderers dearly in the derby, butchering a few gilt-edged chances, especially in a first-half they dominated.
Some of the combination-play though involving the front-four is a pleasure. Whichever side’s attack brings their shooting boots with them might just edge it.
WHO’S BEEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT THIS WEEK?
Liam Reddy. The experienced gloveman was excellent in his Wanderers debut in the derby, pulling off some crucial saves, and is sure to be tested again coming up against Glory’s in-form attack. How will he go trying to stop Castro, Keogh, Harold and Co?
