Sydney FC will be feeling the pressure against Central Coast Mariners tonight without their star marquee player Alessandro Del Piero while last placed
Melbourne Heart will most likely be without star Harry Kewell.
The two stars are battling to get game ready after sustaining injuries.
Sydney FC have not risked anything and won’t be fielding Del Piero, after his hamstring is still recovering.
He tweeted this week that his “left hamstring is a little fatigued” but says he will be “probably be back for the next home game”.
Coach Frank Farina will be looking to keep Del Piero in Sydney till their home match in two weeks.
Melbourne Heart on the other hand are getting quite desperate without their star player, but proved their not a lost cause last week, securing a well fought draw against Adelaide United at AMMI Park.
Kewell missed Heart’s morale boosting draw, and has only had just 68 minutes of time on the pitch for the read and white.
If coach John Aloisi plays it safe, Kewell wont be making an appearance at their away game against Western Sydney Wanderers, making sure his neck and ankle injuries are not a problem.
The Wanderers of late haven’t been as successful as their second on the ladder position might suggest, after a 3-1 defeat to Brisbane and a 0-0 draw with Wellington Phoenix last round.
Their marquee player, Shinji Ono has been battling to get back to fitness after injury but did start training this week.
Ladder leader Brisbane Roar proved their position after their sixth straight win, this time 1-0 against Perth Glory.
Brisbane Roar are up against Adelaide United this round, a team that hasn’t had much consistency in their games.
They looked like they were up for a sure fire win against Melbourne Heart last week, with a 2-0 lead, but were bested after poor defence and a free kick.
They haven’t won a game since the first round and sit third last on the ladder.
Melbourne Victory on the other hand have handled their change of coach early in the season quite well, with a couple of wins and a 0-0 draw against Central Coast Mariners last week with coach Kevin Muscat.
Victory are up against Newcastle Jets this round on Sunday at home, actually making history by playing the 1000th A-League game.
Newcastle Jets were beaten for the first time in seven games last week, when they went down 2-0 at the hands of Sydney FC.
The Victory have won five of their past six home games against the Jets and go in as favourites.
