Log-leaders Western United face a revitalised Sydney FC

Western United’s position in first is under serious threat with plenty of challengers looking to jump them, including a resurgent Sydney FC who they will face this weekend.

The Green and Black outfit travels away in the premiere fixture of the A-League’s 14th round against a Sydney side that is looking to go level on points with the league leaders.

Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory are also looking towards first when they play Western Sydney and Arthur Papas’ Newcastle side respectively.

Wellington are aiming to continue their good form against Adelaide United while the Mariners and Perth will each be looking to regain some form in their contest.

Macarthur will be keen to reassert themselves as they challenge a Brisbane side that is yet to click this season.

Western Sydney hosts Melbourne City on Friday evening who are in high spirits after dominating Newcastle 2-4 in a midweek match.

The reigning premiers will be without their coach, Patrick Kisnorbo, after he tested positive to COVID-19. They nevertheless pose a huge threat thanks to their star-studded attack, including striker Jamie Maclaren who has netted 18 times in 17 games against the Red and Black side.

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First-place Western United encounters a huge challenge on Saturday night against an in-form Sydney team which is striving to hit their former heights.

Sky Blues manager Steve Corica praised their opponents’ campaign thus far and acknowledged their tough task in having to score against the best defensive team in the league.

“They deserve the respect. They’re doing a great job at the moment. Defensively, obviously, they’re very strong … that’s obviously our challenge this weekend, to put a few past them, but we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Mr Corica told the media earlier this week.

Wellington hosts Adelaide on Saturday afternoon with the New Zealanders flying high after three league wins in a row, including a midweek 1-0 success over Melbourne Victory.

Adelaide is looking to bounce back after their loss last week as they continue to press towards the top of the table.

Melbourne Victory will be visited by Newcastle Jets as they look to get their league campaign back on track.

The newly-crowned FFA Cup champions were given a rude awakening by the Phoenix midweek (as were the Novocastrians by the current A-League champions) though a win could see them reascend to the top of the table.

Victory coach Tony Popovic addressed the need to adapt to the hectic schedule which will have clubs playing multiple games each week.

“We’ll have to play every three or four days, there’s another game, and we have to recover well. Hopefully we get some of the senior boys back that we didn’t have today to freshen some legs up and we go again at home against Newcastle,” Mr Popovic said after their match on Wednesday.

Central Coast plays Perth Glory at home on Sunday evening with the visitors desperately hoping they can finally get back to playing consistently after numerous postponements.

The Mariners will be hoping for maximum points after being held to a 3-3 draw by Macarthur in a catch-up game while the Western Australians will be raring to go after their season was dealt with another Covid-forced mini break.

Macarthur travels to Brisbane in the round’s final contest and the Bulls will be hoping for a win to bring them back towards the top of the ladder.

The Roar are still searching for a spark to ignite their season, finding themselves just one point off last place.

Macarthur needs to revive their form as well as they have gone winless in their last four matches.