This match is shaping up as one of the most interesting fixtures of the season as Adelaide returns from one of the longest midweek road trips in football history.
Date: Sunday October 26
Kick-off: 4:30pm local (5pm AEST)
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium
TV and Radio: Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3 and delayed telecast on Sky Sport 3 (9:00pm NZ time). Hyundai A-League club radio broadcast partner is FRESH FM (Adelaide). To purchase tickets visit www.venuetix.com.au.
Head-to-head
Ten Hyundai A-League meetings: Adelaide – 5 wins, Perth – 2 wins, Draws – 3
Previous meeting
Adelaide 1, Perth 0, Hindmarsh Stadium, Round 1, August 2008
Past Five Games
Adelaide:
Round 4: Melbourne Victory 1, Adelaide United 0, Telstra Dome
Round 5: Sydney FC 3, Adelaide United 0, Sydney Football Stadium
Round 6: Adelaide United 2, Newcastle Jets 0, Hindmarsh Stadium
Round 7: Adelaide United 3, Central Coast Mariners 3, Hindmarsh Stadium
Round 8: Queensland Roar 0, Adelaide 1, Suncorp Stadium
Perth Glory:
Round 3: Sydney FC 5, Perth Glory 2, Sydney Football Stadium
Round 4: Queensland Roar 3, Perth Glory 0, Members Equity Stadium
Round 5: Perth Glory 1, Wellington Phoenix 0, Members Equity Stadium
Round 6: Central Coast Mariners 4, Perth Glory 1, Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium
Round 8: Perth Glory 2, Sydney FC 1, Members Equity Stadium
Analysis
This match is shaping up as one of the most interesting fixtures of the season as Adelaide returns from one of the longest midweek road trips in football history, having secured its place in the Asian Champions league.
Although they lost the second leg of their semi-final to Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor in Tashkent, a 3-0 win in Adelaide has seen the Reds become the first Australian side into the Asian Champions League final.
But the gruelling round trip to Tashkent is giving this fixture an air of exotic mystery, as Adelaide hosts a Glory side that appears determined to get some momentum flowing.
The midweek game has made guessing Adelaide’s first XI for this encounter a complete gamble. One player who won’t be featuring is Paul Agostino, who is out for four weeks with a groin injury while Daniel Beltrame (knee – season) and Isyan Erdogan (hamstring – indefinite) will also be unavailable.
The Reds will go into this clash having lost only one of their last five matches, but the last time they played following an ACL midweek match they gave up a 3-0 lead to the fast-finishing Mariners and that match ended in a draw.
The Glory, meanwhile, are hoping to have their season back on track following an outstanding win over Sydney last weekend at home. Consecutive 4-1 and 4-0 losses to Central Coast and Melbourne respectively led to an intense period of soul searching in Perth over the two-week FIFA break, but Dave Mitchell’s reshuffled line-up produced the goods against the Sky Blues.
Perth’s defensive effort is the key to this clash, however. If it falls apart like it did in the two big losses, the likes of Cassio and Fabien Barbiero could have a field day regardless of how sleepy they are. But with the Glory’s back four looking substantially stronger with Hayden Foxe in the middle alongside Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Adelaide’s forwards could be in for a gruelling afternoon as Sydney’s John Aloisi discovered last weekend.
The Glory will be missing striker Eugene Dadi for a week with a groin injury, while James Robinson (abdomen) and Josip Magdic (knee) are long-term casualties.
However, Jamie Harnwell and Nikita Rukavytsya form a potent front pairing, while Dino Djulbic is back in the squad after a five-week suspension and could boost the back four even further.
Adelaide United Squad. 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 3.ALEMAO, 4.Angelo COSTANZO, 5.Michael VALKANIS, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Kristian SARKIES, 10.CRISTIANO, 13.Travis DODD (capt.), 14.Scott JAMIESON, 15.Jonas SALLEY, 16.Daniel MULLEN, 18.Fabian BARBIERO, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO, 22.DIEGO, 24.Paul REID, 25.Robert YOUNIS, 30.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk)
*5 to be omitted.
In. Eugene GALEKOVIC (injury), DIEGO (injury), Michael VALKANIS (promoted), Lucas PANTELIS (promoted), Kristian SARKIES (promoted), Daniel MULLEN (promoted), Robert YOUNIS (promoted).
Out. Paul AGOSTINO (groin – 4 weeks).
Unavailable. Daniel BELTRAME (knee – season), Isyan ERDOGAN (hamstring – indefinite).
Perth Glory Squad. 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Jamie COYNE (c), 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Nick RIZZO, 9.Adrian TRINIDAD, 10.AMARAL, 11.Scott BULLOCH, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, , 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.James DOWNEY, 18.Hayden FOXE, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20.Frank JURIC (gk), 22.Wayne SRHOJ
* one to be omitted.
In. Dino DJULBIC (suspension)
Out. Nil
Unavailable. Eugene DADI (groin – 1 week), Josip MAGDIC (ankle – season), James ROBINSON (abdomen – 8 weeks).
