Just four rounds of the A-League home and away season remain, and the run home will prove crucial to the finals aspirations of a number of teams.

Pre-season favourites and last year’s grand finalists Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have been overtaken and now seem destined to battle it out for sixth place on the ladder. Of the two, seventh-placed Sydney faces the toughest run home with just one of its last four games against a team below it on the ladder.

Things are looking brighter for Graham Arnold’s men in the ACL after Wednesday’s 1-nil away win against South Korea’s Pohang Steelers put it on top of its qualifying group, and in a good position to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.

Victory has a slightly easier run home than Sydney facing two teams, the Jets and Phoenix, which are below it on the ladder. But it will have to juggle an ACL campaign at the same time.

Perth Glory has taken the top six by storm after winning seven of its last eight games. It’s now looking to make further inroads into the top four with three of its last four games against teams below it on the ladder.

The top four teams – Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney Wanderers, Adelaide United and Melbourne City – are each striving for a top two finish and there’ll be a number of crucial match-ups between these teams in the run home.

Round 24 kicked off last night at Melbourne’s AAMI Park with a mouth-watering encounter between two in-form clubs, fourth-placed Melbourne City and league leader Brisbane Roar. The game featured the leading contenders for the Golden Boot, Roar’s Jamie MacLaren and City’s Bruno Fornaroli.

Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC, Sat 19 March, 5.15 pm
The Sky Blues, buoyed by a 1-nil ACL win in South Korea in mid-week, will have its best chance of breaking its winless streak of eight league matches when it visits the Mariners for the derby today. The Mariners have lost their last six matches and will be further weakened by the loss to suspension of star import Luis Garcia after his sending off in the 4-nil loss to Perth last week. Sydney will start a strong favourite, having won the last five meetings between the two, and desperate to keep alive its chances of finals football.

Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United, Sat 19 March, 7.30 pm
With a position in the top two at stake, expect a tense, tough battle between two of the league heavyweights this season. The Wanderers will be hard to beat at home and if the Reds can come away with a draw from Wanderland, coach Guillermo Amor will likely be satisfied.

Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory, Sun 20 March, 3.00 pm
Both sides come into this match on the back of good wins last week. The Glory have come back with a vengeance from the low point of last season and the early struggles of this season. Despite the long distance flight, they’ll be expected to push strongly for another win in its assault on the top four. The Glory should have too many options in attack with in-form Andy Keogh, Chris Harold and Diego Castro all finding the net consistently.

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets, Sun 20 March, 5.00 pm
The final match of the round sees a Victory side seriously shaken by last week’s 5-nil pummelling at the hands of league leader Brisbane Roar. Victory faces a Jets team which put in a strong defensive showing against WSW last week before succumbing to a solitary goal.

Victory welcomes back Kosta Barbarouses from suspension and coach Muscat has also promoted midfielder Jessie Makarounas, defender Giancarlo Gallifuoco and forward George Howard. Victory will be desperate for a win to strengthen its wavering hold on a top six place.