Melbourne Victory and Western United meet in a derby, Adelaide cross the Tasman to face Wellington, Melbourne City look to extend their win streak against Brisbane, Central Coast attempt to stop Sydney and Joe Lolley, Perth Glory host Auckland in the first ‘New Distance Derby’, Newcastle look for their first home win of the season against Macarthur Bulls while Western Sydney Wanderers enjoy the weekend off.
Melbourne Victory v Western United
Melbourne Victory are still searching for a win under Arthur Diles but it’s not as bad as it sounds, as Diles has coached them to one loss and three draws.
This includes last Saturday where Ryan Teague’s 87th-minute penalty helped Victory rescue a 2-2 draw with Western Sydney.
The draw sees them fourth on the table but they’ll hope to finally get back to winning ways by beating one of the league’s most-in-form teams in Western United.
Western are coming off a fiery derby against Melbourne City that did not go their way, losing 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Coming off a rousing 3-2 win in Perth last Friday night, the comedown of that performance and the travel to and from Western Australia seemed to leave United flat and uninspired in attack.
Aloisi’s team managed just one shot on target as they failed to complete a club-record fifth-straight win.
Prior to the loss they had four straight wins as part of a five-game unbeaten run and they’ll play their second derby in the same week hoping to cause problems for their opposition just as they have for many others.
Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United
The Nix’ are struggling at the moment. Their most recent loss last Friday, 2-0 to City, was their fourth in five games.
This is not the same team who reached the semi-finals last season and a lot of it has to do with their struggles in front of goal.
In 10 games, Wellington have kicked just 12 goals and they rank last in the league for shots on target per match (2.5).
Half of those 12 goals have been kicked by Kosta Barbarouses, who has been a bright spot for the club this season.
The veteran striker is second in the Golden Boot race and heads into this Adelaide United clash needing just one more goal to reach his 100th career goal.
Adelaide on the other hand are full of confidence sitting in third after their dramatic 2-1 win over Macarthur on Monday night.
Young gun Luka Jovanovic scored in the 92nd minute to fire his side to a win. After being dropped by Carl Veart the round before for disciplinary reasons, Jovanovic announced his return by gifting the Reds the three points with a superb volley.
Breathing down the neck of Auckland in first, if the Reds are to win and other results go their way, they might be sitting in top of the table after this round.
Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar
City coach Aurelio Vidmar hailed the resilience of his players after beating Western United 2-0 in a fiery derby that moves them into second on the table.
Missing eight first-choice players due to injury, City dominated their Victorian rivals at AAMI Park on Tuesday night to make it through a sixth-straight match unbeaten.
Harry Politidis broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute after capitalising on a corner from 17-year-old debutant Lawrence Wong.
Four days earlier he scored his first A-League goal to help lift City to a 2-0 win over Wellington.
Brisbane Roar find themselves on the opposite end of the table, yet to win a game this season.
Their horror home losing streak hit a new low when Newcastle Jets beat them 1-0 on Tuesday.
The Roar earn unwanted records each week and have now lost eight consecutive home games in the A-League competition, breaking the mark of seven they shared with the New Zealand Knights team from back in 2005.
Brisbane have not won at home since a 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory on March 3. The club’s last win was a 2-1 away victory over Western Sydney on April 5 … 278 days ago. Their club record winless streak now stretches to 14.
Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners
Sydney coach Ufuk Talay has heaped praise on talisman Joe Lolley after his hat-trick launched Sydney FC to a 3-0 A-League Men win and heaped more misery on Perth Glory.
Lolley broke through the stalemate at Allianz Stadium in the 52nd minute before launching himself to the top of the league’s golden-boot standings with his 68th-minute penalty conversion on Wednesday.
In Sydney’s previous two matches, the 32-year-old scored a brace to help secure a 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory before kicking a crucial goal in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
Can any team stop his form? Central Coast will give it a try heading into the clash somewhat refreshed having last played on January 3 when they beat Brisbane.
It was just their third win in a season that has been difficult for them. The reigning champions are ninth and four points outside the top six.
But striker Ryan Edmondson is fit again and experienced Socceroo Trent Sainsbury has seen some consistency so they’ll be confident they can knock over the Sky Blues just like they did back in December.
Perth Glory v Auckland FC
With just one win in their last 23 games, Perth Glory fans have got it rough at the moment.
The pressure is on coach David Zdrilic who has just one win and two draws in his first 12 games at the helm, including losing the last three matches since after their long-awaited taste of victory in late December.
Their rebuild campaign won’t get any easier as they face league-leaders Auckland FC at home in their next fixture.
Auckland last played on New Year’s Day when they drew 0-0 with Victory and will now travel the furthest they have since joining the competition.
The ‘New Distance Derby’, as some call it, is at 6.45pm local time but 11.45pm in New Zealand. To adjust to the time difference the Black Knights have been in Perth since Wednesday night.
They could also lose their spot on top if they fail to win and either the Reds or Victory win.
Newcastle Jets v Macarthur Bulls
Newcastle are looking for their first home win of the season after they got their third away win of the season against Brisbane.
Rob Stanton’s side sit in 11th but fresh off a win they’ll be confident they can beat the Bulls.
They have already done it this season, a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
Macarthur will be spewing they let their last match against Adelaide slip, where they led 1-0 at the 80th minute before conceding two late goals.
A win could have seen them sitting second on the table but they turned in an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance, making eight shots at goal to 14 – none of which were on target.
Before the loss they were unbeaten in four matches (three wins and a draw) and are one of the in-form teams.
Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski thinks his squad is capable of winning the league and hopes the recent loss was a wake-up call they needed.
Matchday 13 – Schedule AEDT
Friday 10/1
Melbourne Victory v Western United 7.35pm
Saturday 11/1
Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United 3pm
Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar 5pm
Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners 7.35pm
Perth Glory v Auckland FC 9.45pm
Sunday 12/1
Newcastle Jets v Macarthur Bulls 5pm
Midweek will also see Perth Glory v Western Sydney on Tuesday 9.45pm and Wellington v Sydney on Wednesday 5pm as part of Matchday 14.
Standings
Teams Win Draw Loss Points
1. Auckland 7.2.1.23
2. Melb City 6.3.2.21
3. Adelaide 6.3.1.21
4. Melb Victory 5.4.2.19
5. Macarthur 5.3.4.18
6. Western Utd 5.3.4.18
7. Sydney FC 5.2.4.17
8. Western Sydney 4.3.4.15
9. Central Coast 3.5.3.14
10. Well Phoenix 4.1.5.13
11. Newcastle Jets 3.1.6.10
12. Perth Glory 1.2.9.5
13. Brisbane Roar 0.2.9.2
With AAP
