The path to the Premiers Plate just became clearer for the A-League’s leading contenders after the competition’s remaining fixtures were locked in place.
With the Central Coast Mariners battling to complete a fairytale rise from worst to first in the space of 12 months and title rivals Melbourne City gunning for their first ever A-League silverware, one guarantee is that history will be made in the coming weeks.
But there is no counting out an Adelaide United side that have proven they are capable of playing some of the competition’s finest football, while Sydney FC will fight till the finish as they attempt to defend their crown and clinch an unprecedented fifth Premiership.
Now the schedule has been confirmed, we look at the key contests that could prove pivotal in shaping the A-League’s top six and deciding which club will be celebrating at the season’s end.
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Matchweek 21: Big Blue boosts bumper game week
Seven A-League fixtures were already locked in place during a stacked period of action between Thursday, 13 May and Sunday, 16 May – and two more confirmed clashes make Matchweek 21 bigger and even better.
Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory in the season’s final Big Blue, with the basement dwellers looking to add a silver lining to their season ahead of Tony Popovic’s impending arrival, before later on Wednesday, 19 May, Adelaide United head west aiming to keep their Premiership ambitions alive against Perth Glory.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6246527614001
Matchweek 22: Title rivals lock horns ahead of Sydney Derby
Mark Saturday, 22 May in your calendars as the day one of the competition’s frontrunners could tighten their grip on a long-awaited Premiers Plate as first and second go head-to-head with Melbourne City welcoming the Central Coast Mariners to AAMI Park for a mouthwatering top-of-the-table encounter.
And the weekend does not slow down with a Sydney Derby scheduled at the Sydney Cricket Ground for Sunday, 23 May, with reigning Premiers, Sydney FC, and Western Sydney Wanderers battling for supremacy at the top end of the A-League ladder, still with silverware in their sights.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6242606355001
Matchweek 23: Top six race hots up as start-up clubs clash
It may be almost impossible to predict how the A-League’s top six will shake up but expect the competition’s two newest clubs to be right in the hunt when Western United and Macarthur FC seek to write an early chapter in their club’s history books on Monday, 31 May.
A day later, on Tuesday, 1 June, the Central Coast Mariners’ Premiership credentials will be put to the test in what is always a high-intensity F4 Derby against the Newcastle Jets, with the Hunter outfit no doubt keen to put a serious dent in their rivals’ fairytale campaign.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6242208489001
Matchweek 24: Premiers will be crowned – but who will raise the Plate?
Fireworks are guaranteed during a set of high-stakes, final round showdowns but will the ribbons be tied to the Premiers Plate in Gosford as the Mariners entertain Western United? Or maybe at Marvel Stadium, where Melbourne Victory will be desperate to deny City their first ever A-League silverware in the season’s final Melbourne Derby.
Perhaps Adelaide United will still be in the running – in which case Coopers Stadium will be bouncing for an encounter against Western Sydney Wanderers – while there is no way Sydney FC will give up on a successful Premiership defence easily, with the Sky Blues closing out with a trip to face finals-chasing Brisbane Roar in Redcliffe.
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6248206975001
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