Three major movers in the top six of the A-League after last round’s matches were Perth Glory who stepped into the six for the first time with a win over the Jets, supplanting pre-season favorite Sydney FC after it suffered a 3-nil away loss to Melbourne City courtesy of a memorable Bruno Fornaroli hat trick.
The other major mover of course was the ascension of Guillermo Armor’s Adelaide United into top spot on the A-League on the back of a new club record of 14 games undefeated. Last night Adelaide hosted Melbourne City in the first of two matches between these teams in the run home.
Today’s Round 23 matches kick off in Sydney.
Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix, Sat 12 March, 5.15 pm, Allianz
Sydney receives a huge boost ahead of this crucial match with the return from suspension of four key players, Seb Ryall, David Carney, Jacques Faty and Rhyan Grant. However it is without Alex Brosque who’s likely to miss the run home with a hamstring injury.
If ever there was a time Sydney needed a win to arrest its slide, it’s in this game ahead of another mid-week ACL fixture. They face a Phoenix team whose slender hopes of a finals football vanished with last week’s crushing home loss to Adelaide United.
Sydney and Phoenix have drawn twice in their two meetings this season.
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory, Sat 12 March, 7.30 pm, Suncorp Stadium
Both teams come into this game on the back of wins. Roar in particular will be hoping for a repeat of last week’s performance when it toppled the Wanderers from its perch on top of the table. Coach Aloisi has named an unchanged squad.
One thing that hasn’t changed for Victory this season is Danny Vukovic who will this weekend notch up his 250th A-League match. Vukovic already holds the record for the most number of A-League appearances. He’ll be hoping to celebrate by keeping another clean sheet against the Roar as he did in their last meeting when Victory ran out 4-nil winners. Trying to spoil the celebrations will be Roar striker Jamie McLaren whose impressive goalscoring form has brought him to the attention of Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.
