There still may be a third of the regular season to go but it’s basically win-or-bust stage for Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory if they are any hope of reaching the Hyundai A-League Finals Series.
Carl Robinson’s first game in charge of the Jets last weekend saw his side pick up a 1-1 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers to move off the foot of the ladder.
But they remain 11 points away from the top six and face a Victory side they have lost to on four occasions in their last five meetings.
At least the Jets have found a little bit of form, going three games without defeat ahead of Robinson’s first match in front of the home fans in the Hunter.
In contrast, Victory still haven’t won a Hyundai A-League match under new boss Carlos Salvachua.
That’s a run of five matches since their last win in the competition, and they will likely need to overcome some tiredness following a long trip back from Korea after their AFC Champions League loss against FC Seoul on Tuesday night.
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Saturday, 22 February 2020
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
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Team news
Newcastle Jets FC Squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Bobby BURNS, 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 7.Roy O’DONOVAN, 8.Wes HOOLAHAN, 9.Abdiel ARROYO, 10.Dimi PETRATOS, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 16.Matt MILLAR, 18.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 19.Kosta PETRATOS, 20.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 23.Matt RIDENTON, 25.Jack SIMMONS, 28.Pat LANGLOIS, 29.Connor O’TOOLE, 32.Angus THURGATE, 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (2-4 to be omitted)
Ins: 8.Wes HOOLAHAN (promoted), 23.Matt RIDENTON (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (quad – 3-5 weeks), 22.Lachlan JACKSON (knee – indefinite), 40.Noah JAMES (hand – 3 months)
Melbourne Victory squad: 4.James DONACHIE, 5.Tim HOOGLAND, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 11.Ola TOIVONEN, 15.Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 23. Marco ROJAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 30. Matthew SUTTON, 32. So NISHIKAWA
**1-3 to be omitted**
Ins: 6.Leigh BROXHAM (return from injury), 7.Kenny ATHIU (promoted), 30. Matthew SUTTON (promoted), 32. So NISHIKAWA (promoted)
Outs: 2.Storm ROUX (calf),10.Robbie KRUSE (hamstring), 26.Jay BARNETT (injured – to be assessed) 50.Brendan WHITE (released)
Unavailable: 1.Matt ACTON (shoulder)
Did you know?
- Melbourne Victory have won three of their last six Hyundai A-League games against the Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium (D1, L2), each of their three wins in that stretch coming by a score of 1-0.
- The Jets (5.9) have made the most shots on target per game of any team this Hyundai A-League campaign, while Victory (3.7) have made the fewest.
- Victory are winless in their last five Hyundai A-League games (D1, L4); the last time they went longer without a win was a seven-game stretch from May to November in 2017 (D4, L3).
- Newcastle Jets duo Matthew Millar and Dimitri Petratos have created 18 scoring chances for one another this Hyundai A-League campaign, the most of any two players in the competition.