Bottom-placed Adelaide host Perth, which is sixth on the table, in a classic six-point game with a victory seeing United move to within a point of the Glory.
Date: Tuesday, January 19
Kick-off: 7.30pm local (8pm AEDT)
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium
TV and Radio: Live & exclusive broadcast on Fox Sports 1HD. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partners are 107.9 Life FM (Adelaide) and 6PR 882AM (Perth). To purchase tickets visit www.venuetix.com.au.
Head-to-head
Played 14: Wins: Adelaide United 8, Perth Glory 3, Draws: 3
Previous meeting
Perth Glory 1, Adelaide United 0, Members Equity Stadium, Round 10, October 2009
Past five matches:
Adelaide United:
Round 18: Brisbane Roar 0, Adelaide United 1, Suncorp Stadium
Round 20: Adelaide United 1, Wellington Phoenix 1, Hindmarsh Stadium
Round 21: Sydney FC 1, Adelaide United 0, Sydney Football Stadium
Round 22: Gold Coast 1, Adelaide United 1, Skilled Park
Round 23: Adelaide United 1, Central Coast Mariners 1, Hindmarsh Stadium
Perth Glory:
Round 18: North Queensland 1, Perth Glory 0, Dairy Farmers Stadium
Round 20: Gold Coast United 2, Perth Glory 0, Skilled Park
Round 21: Perth Glory 4, Newcastle Jets 0, ME Bank Stadium
Round 22: Perth Glory 0, Sydney FC 0, ME Bank Stadium
Round 23: Melbourne Victory 6, Perth Glory 2, Etihad Stadium
Last weekend’s results fell in Adelaide United’s favour so the Reds have one more chance to keep their finals aspirations alive in this handy Round 19 catch-up game.
Bottom-placed Adelaide host Perth, which is sixth on the table, in a classic six-point game with a victory seeing United move to within a point of the Glory.
If all goes to plan and the Reds win they’ll join a desperate scramble of five teams vying for the remaining finals position with four rounds to play. But are Aurelio Vidmar’s boys good enough to rocket up the ladder in the space of a month – recent history suggests no.
In the past five matches United has played out three draws and suffered 1-0 losses against Brisbane and Sydney. Last Friday the Reds conceded a silly penalty before hitting back with Travis Dodd scoring his second goal in as many weeks.
It was a match that could’ve gone either way and Adelaide feels it can build on that performance. It’s been a repetitive plea in these previews but the Reds just need to find away to score more goals. The last time they scored multiple goals was back in October when they beat Sydney 2-1 while the in-form Dodd could miss this contest with corked hip.
Forgotten recruit Lloyd Owusu was given his first start in several months when he took to the field against the Mariners. He tried hard, brought the ball to ground on a number of occasions, but still didn’t have a genuine chance to score.
He’s playing for his future at the club and is one that could quickly discover some form. Mathew Leckie, Cassio, Lucas Pantelis and Fabian Barbiero are others that should have a belief they can win a match off their own boot.
There’s nothing convincing about the Reds but the Glory’s recent form isn’t convincing either, especially after their embarrassing 2-6 loss to Melbourne Victory at the weekend.
They were trailing 4-1 at half-time of that contest (with Rody Vargas conceding an own goal) before Mile Sterjovski provided their only highlight in the second half.
Perth has now gone seven away games without a win.
Glory coach Dave Mitchell has admitted Chris Coyne, Jacob Burns and Sterjovski’s quest to find overseas football clubs ahead of the World Cup has been distracting and believes it’s had an impact on the team’s performance.
That’ll be music to Aurelio Vidmar’s ears who probably needs his side to tackle an opposition which is leaking goals to record a sixth win of the season. If Adelaide’s luck finally changes they’ll sneak home for a victory in this one but a draw is the most likely result.
Analysis:
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 3. ALEMAO, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 9.CRISTIANO, 10.Adam HUGHES, 11.Lloyd OWUSU, 13.Travis DODD (c), 14.Scott JAMIESON, 16.Inseob SHIN, 17.Michael MARRONE, 18.Fabian BARBIERO, 19.Mathew LECKIE, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 21.Mark RUDAN
In: Robert CORNTHWAITE (promoted), Scott JAMIESON (promoted), ALEMAO (returns from injury)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Kristian SARKIES (quad – 1 week), Joe COSTA (knee – long term injury list), Paul REID (groin – 2 week)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Danny McBREEN, 3.Jamie COYNE, 4.Andy TODD, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Chris COYNE, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 11. Branko JELIC, 12.Scott NEVILLE, 13.Scott BULLOCH, 14. Steven McGARRY, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.Todd HOWARTH, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20.Aleks VRTESKI (gk), 21.Mile STERJOVSKI, 23.Andrija JUKIC
In: 14. Steven McGARRY (released from Motherwell)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Wayne SRHOJ (Knee – 1 week), Viktor SIKORA (Thigh – 1 week)
