It will be a Distance Derby like no other when Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix go head-to-head at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta on Wednesday night.
The two sides travelled to New South Wales for the relaunch of the 2019/20 Hyundai A-League campaign and will meet at the home of Western Sydney Wanderers in a high stakes affair.
Perth have the potential to overtake Wellington and surge into third spot on the Hyundai A-League table with a win, but both sides will be hungry to take all three points with the second-placed Melbourne City well within their respective clutches.
Tony Popovic’s side approach the contest in fifth position, six points behind City, while Wellington sit just four points off Erick Mombaerts’ side – but both Glory and Phoenix have two games in hand on City, making a second-placed finish more than a faint opportunity for whoever comes out on top when the two teams collide on Wednesday night.
Wellington and Perth have experienced contrasting fortunes of late: the Phoenix enjoyed a four-game winning streak before the league hiatus and marked their return to action with a loss against Sydney FC, while Glory put an end to their four-game winless run with a 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night.
Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Venue: Bankwest Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 507
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
NEWS: Hyundai A-League 2019/20 season updated match schedule released
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6130398355001
Ways to watch
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How to follow the action
Match centre: Live updates, videos and statistics
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Team news
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jacob TRATT, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.James MEREDITH, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 13.Osama MALIK, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Vince LIA, 23.Dane INGHAM, 25.Carlo ARMIENTO, 27.JUANDE, 28.Gabriel POPOVIC, 29.Kristian POPOVIC, 33.Liam REDDY (GK), 50.Daniel MARGUSH (GK), 88.Neil KILKENNY (c)
Ins: 16.Tomislav MRCELA (promoted), 21.Tarek ELRICH (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Stefan MARINOVIC (gk), 2.Liam McGING, 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI, 5.Matti STEINMANN, 7.Reno PISCOPO, 8.Cameron DEVLIN, 9. David BALL, 10.Ulises DAVILA, 11.Jaushua SOTIRIO, 12. Brandan Wilson, 13.Liberato CACACE, 14.Alex RUFER, 16.Louis FENTON, 17.Callan ELLIOT, 21.Callum McCOWATT, 27.Steven TAYLOR (c), 30.Zac JONES (gk), 31.Ben WAINE, 88. Gary HOOPER **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI (promoted), 8.Cameron DEVLIN (return from suspension)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Tim PAYNE (Suspended – 4 matches), 20.Oliver SAIL (gk) (Suspended – 4 matches)
Did you know?
- Perth Glory have won their last four games in a row against Wellington Phoenix, outscoring them 14-3 in that stretch.
- Phoenix boast a crossing accuracy of 25% from open play this season, the highest in the competition.
- Glory striker Bruno Fornaroli has scored nine goals in 10 games against Wellington, only against Newcastle Jets (11) has he scored more.
- Wellington midfielder Matti Steinmann has completed 84.6% of dribbles (22/26) this Hyundai A-League season, the highest rate of any player who has attempted more than 10 dribbles.
