Barbarouses, Ikonomidis looking to return to weekend’s A-League action

Six A-League sides are still winless this season, something they will be hoping to rectify this weekend.

The 3rd round kicks-off Friday night and it is very likely to see the return to action of Kosta Barbarouses and possibly Chris Ikonomidis, with their respective teams.

The Greek-New Zealander, answering Neos Kosmos’ question, is wary of the threat that former Greek Super League players like Olivier Boumal will pose.

“When I was in Greece, it was always the case that the foreign players that did come to play were of a high standard so the foreign players who have played there and come to the A-League should have a lot of quality as well,” Barbarouses told Neos Kosmos.

He also noted the similarity in style between Papas’ team’ style and his former coach at Brisbane and Victory, Ange Postecoglou.

“I think they try and play in a similar way (to Postecoglou) …The more they go into the season and the more time the coach has with, the better they are going to get,” Barabarouses said to Neos Kosmos.

READ MORE: A Greek Affair highlights A-League’s 2nd round

Other Greek–Australians to look out for are Terry Antonis, Dimitri Petratos and Kosta Grozos, the latter looking to excel against last year’s Grand Finalists Sydney FC, if handed the opportunity by his coach, Arthur Papas.

The most anticipated match will be Saturday’s Victorian clash between Melbourne City and Western United.

The A-League champions will want to bounce back strongly after conceding a late equaliser against Adelaide last week.

The Green and Blacks, meanwhile, are looking to record back-to-back victories after finally ending their nine-match losing streak in the previous round.

Attention will also divert to Victoria on Sunday night where Melbourne Victory aims to preserve its place at the top of the ladder against Perth Glory.

The match has plenty of feistiness to it, with manager Tony Popovic who received big appraisal from the team’s newly acquired Nick D’ Agostino, who will be one player to watch, since he will be fighting against his former club.

“The boss has instilled that belief in us since the first day of pre-season. I came here especially to win titles and win trophies and big things. He’s instilled that belief in all of us to put our best foot forward and win football matches,” D’Agostino told media.

Victory fans will also be delighted by star winger Chris Ikonomidis’ return to the squad, hoping to see him either in the starting eleven or as a substitute.

On Friday night in Wollongong, Wellington Phoenix plays host to Western Sydney where the Wanderers will hope to get all three points for the first time this season.

The New Zealanders, off the back of a 2-1 success last week, are aiming to assert their position in the ladder’s top three.

The Red and Blacks, meanwhile, will hope that some of their Greek Australian stars like Dimitri Petratos and Terry Antonis can inspire an away win.

Saturday’s first match features Brisbane and Adelaide who are both aiming to leave the other winless by the end of the round.

The Reds’ confidence will be sky-high after securing a dramatic draw against the A-League champions.

Brisbane is hoping for a positive result in their first home game this season, after two dismal weeks in Melbourne brought them consecutive losses.

Saturday’s final clash sees Sydney FC and Newcastle face off, both sides desperate for a maiden win this term.

The Sky Blues’ attacking options are boosted this week with the return of Kosta Barbarouses to the matchday squad.

The Novocastrians showed promise last round, with winger Olivier Boumal’s wonderful performance against the Wanderers earning them a draw.

A possible start for the visitors is 21-year-old midfielder Kosta Grozos, for whom coach Arthurs Papas said last weekend that “he is going to be a very good player”.

Sunday’s first match has the unbeaten Macarthur host Central Coast.

The Bulls pulled off a huge away win against their local rivals, Sydney FC, and they will hope for something similar against a tired Mariners outfit who had to dig deep to defeat Wollongong Wolves 1-2 on Wednesday night in the FFA Cup Round of 16.