Life gets no easier for the struggling Western Sydney Wanderers as they travel to Hyundai A-League table-toppers Perth Glory on Sunday evening.
The Wanderers enter Round 13 in eighth on the table after a run of five matches without a win, form that sees them 10 points off the finals places.
Markus Babbel’s side should have got something from a 3-2 defeat to Wellington Phoenix on Tuesday but paid the price for poor defending.
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And repeats are sure to be costly against the in-form Glory, who were far too good for Sydney FC on Wednesday evening in a 3-1 triumph, a result that sent them six points clear at the top of the table.
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Western Sydney have frustrated Perth this season, though, getting a point in a 1-1 draw in Round 1.
Former Wanderers boss Tony Popovic is now in charge of the Glory and could include four former Western Sydney players in Matthew Spiranovic, Brendon Santalab, Liam Reddy and Scott Neville in his matchday squad.
Both Spiranovic and Santalab played the last time Western Sydney won in Perth – a 2-0 success in February 2014.
The Wanderers will be without key players Oriol Riera and Alexander Baumjohann for this fixture due to injury.
Key Opta stats
- Four of the last seven games between Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers have ended in draws
- Western Sydney have won just one of their last eight Hyundai A-League matches played away from home
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Perth’s Neil Kilkenny has a shot conversion rate (inc. blocks) of 43 per cent this campaign, the best of any player to have scored more than one goal
Ins and Outs
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Andy KEOGH, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 21. Jacob ITALIANO, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 27.JUANDE, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Alex GRANT (promoted), 22.Fabio FERREIRA (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers: 5.Brendan HAMILL (c), 7.Nick FITZGERALD, 8.Jordan O’DOHERTY, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 13.Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS, 14.Mathieu CORDIER, 17.Keanu BACCUS, 20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Rashid MAHAZI, 24.Raul LLORENTE, 27.Kwame YEBOAH, 32.John ROBERTS, 33.Tate RUSSELL, 34.Patrick ZIEGLER, 40.Nicholas SUMAN (gk), 49.Abraham MAJOK
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 22.Rashid MAHAZI (promoted), 24.Raul LLORENTE (promoted), 32.John ROBERTS (promoted), 49.Abraham MAJOK (promoted)
Outs: 9.Oriol RIERA (injury – 3 weeks) 10.Alexander BAUMJOHANN (injury – 3 weeks)
Unavailable: 16.Josh RISDON (international duty), 19.Mark BRIDGE (injury – 2 weeks)
How to watch
Tune in to FOX SPORTS 505 to watch the last match of Round 13 from 8:00pm (AEDT).
You can also stream the match on the MyFootball Live App, which is live, fast and data-free for Telstra mobile customers.
Tickets
Be there as the Glory face the Wanderers. Get your ticket here.
