Reigning champions Auckland FC head into Friday night’s clash at Brisbane Roar off the back of a chastening 5-2 loss to the Wanderers in Matchweek 2.
Pedro Moreira’s side took the lead at CommBank Stadium before conceding four second-half goals, handing them their first loss of the season and Moreira his first stumbling block since taking charge.
The result, and indeed performance, was a marked difference from Auckland’s impressive 3-1 win over Melbourne City in Matchweek 1.
Conversely, Brisbane Roar head into Friday night’s clash having impressed during their 2-1 win over Perth Glory, with South Korean veteran Nam Tae-hee starring for the Roar on his debut.
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So what will the key matchups be heading into the Matchweek 3 showdown in Brisbane and who needs to step up?
A-Leagues Champion and former Golden Boot winner Daniel McBreen examined the tactical battle on episode 2 of Total A-Leagues.
“I think we’re all pleasantly surprised by Brisbane and their new signing, Nam,” McBreen said.
“He was quality from the first couple of minutes. I was on the couch in the studio, and we all looked at each other and went, “Yeah, okay, he’s going to be a good player this year” and he topped it off by continuing to play that way for the rest of the game, or 60 minutes of the game and scoring an absolute worldie.
“Now it’s going to be interesting to see how they go.
“It’s one thing to do that against Perth, no disrespect to Perth, but you know when we’re looking at the grand scheme of the A-League clubs, Auckland are champions coming off the back of a defeat that they’re going to be licking their wounds as well.
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“We’ve got to look at Lachie Bayliss and say, game one, he was the man, scored a couple of goals, [but] didn’t really produce last week.
“How is that matchup going to go? Who is going to take that game by the scruff of the neck?
“From the looks of it, the midfield in Brisbane this year could be their engine room that actually controls it.
“Last year we saw them go a lot longer and [be] a lot more combative. Now they’ve got that player in midfield, how is that going to happen against Auckland?
“Will they be able to do the same, or will Auckland find their way because they lost their way last week?”
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