Wooden spoon contender Brisbane host finals hopeful Macarthur, league leaders Auckland welcome fellow top six side Western Sydney, reigning champs Central Coast travel to Melbourne to face City, Western United hope to close gap with first spot when they host cellar dwellers Perth, sixth and seventh battle when Adelaide welcome Sydney while lowly Wellington head to Newcastle. Melbourne Victory have the bye.
Brisbane Roar v Macarthur Bulls
Friday 4/4 7.35pm AEDT
If Macarthur want to plays finals this season, they have to win this. Four points outside the top six with four matches to go and up against a lowly opponent.
Last week the Bulls savoured a point in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle Jets, after being down 2-0 at half time.
Second last Brisbane on the other hand head into this match hoping for their first home win in more than a year.
The Roar are without a win at Suncorp Stadium since March 2024, and they’ll want to avoid their first wooden-spoon.
Last weekend they lost 2-0 to league leaders Auckland FC but are still ahead of Perth Glory on goal difference.
Auckland FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
Saturday 5/4 3pm AEDT
Auckland know they are within touching distance of the premiership plate after scrapping out a 2-0 win over Brisbane last week.
They had been held to three draws ahead of the international break, when several of their players sealed World Cup qualification with New Zealand.
A win here could move them 10 points clear at the top by the end of the round.
Western Sydney meanwhile are coming off a 2-2 draw with Wellington Phoenix last Saturday.
It salvaged a point that ensured Alen Stajcic’s unit extended their unbeaten run to seven games.
They are now within three points (fifth placed) of second-placed Western United, but the draw also snapped a four-game winning run.
Should the Wanderers become just the second away team to win at Go Media Stadium this weekend, they could potentially finish the round in second place.
Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners
Sat 5/4, 5pm AEDT
Melbourne City tightened their hold on a top-four finish after a late Alessandro Lopane goal secured a 3-2 win over Sydney FC last week.
They extended their unbeaten streak to six matches and are eight points adrift of first in third place. A win this weekend could see them in second.
Coach Aurelio Vidmar will have midfielder Steven Ugarkovic back for the clash with the Mariners and is hoping star Mathew Leckie has recovered from the calf issue that saw him miss the game against Sydney.
Something that’ll definitely be on the minds of City is their recent record against the reigning champions, last beating them in December 2022, six games with no win.
Central Coast on the other hand ensured hapless Perth Glory remain bottom of the ladder with a classy 3-1 home win last time out.
The highlight was a thumping left-foot strike from just outside the box by charismatic midfielder Christian Theoharous in the 58th minute, which was the last score of the game.
Theoharous stopped, propped and fired his shot home before unleashing an assortment of backward somersaults to make an Olympic gymnast proud.
The Mariners cannot play finals but they at least gave their home fans something to cheer with their first ALM win in nine games.
Western United v Perth Glory
Sat 5/4, 6pm AEDT
Western United are fresh off a bye to welcome bottom side Perth.
Second on the ladder with four straight wins at the moment, John Aloisi’s side will be confident they’ll extend that to five.
Noah Botic leads the golden boot race with 11 goals to his name and will be looking to improve his tally.
As for Glory, they suffered their 15th loss of the season last weekend and are desperate to avoid a second straight wooden spoon.
It’s a tall task and recent history is against Glory in this once, having lost the last six against United.
Adelaide United v Sydney FC
Sat 5/4, 7.35pm AEDT
This one has huge implications for the top six, when sixth placed Adelaide host seventh placed Sydney.
Adelaide have slipped having not won a game on six matches, the most recent loss being 5-3 to Melbourne Victory.
Coach Carl Veart demanded an explanation from referees on a controversial, momentum-shifting penalty awarded to Victory in the dramatic loss.
Adelaide were up 3-2 on Saturday when Victory appealed for a penalty after Reds defender Panagiotis Kikianis slid in for the ball, appearing to get a touch to it, before collecting Daniel Arzani.
After a VAR review, the ref pointed to the spot, ruling Kikianis hadn’t made contact with the ball.
Arzani converted the equalising penalty in the 71st minute, then red-hot Socceroo Nishan Velupillay orchestrated two goals in three minutes for matchwinner Nikos Vergos, who’d only come on as a late sub, in the dying moments at AAMI Park.
As for Sydney, a win over the Reds will see them leapfrog over into the top six and they’ll be confident in scoring goals against a leaky Adelaide defence having scored seven in their last two matches with them.
Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix
Sunday 6/4, 5pm AEST
Newcastle’s late push for a finals berth has derailed in recent weeks including a 3-3 draw with the Bulls last time out where the coughed up a two-goal lead.
Now it’s a scenario where they’ll have to likely win all of their remaining five games starting with Wellington this week.
And they’ll have some confidence with several players fit and firing and back at full fitness.
The Phoenix however, are without a win in eight matches but are coming off two draws, enjoying some improvement in form.
In recent clashes between the two sides, the Nix’ have won five and the Jets four.
Standings
Teams Win Draw Loss Points
1. Auckland FC 13.6.2.45
2. Western Utd 11.5.5.38
3. Melb City 11.4.6.37
4. Melb Victory 10.6.6.36
5. Western Sydney 10.5.6.35
6. Adelaide Utd 9.6.6.33
7. Sydney FC 8.6.7.29
8. Macarthur 8.5.9.29
9. Newcastle Jets 7.5.9.26
10. Central Coast 5.10.7.25
11. Wellington 5.6.10.21
12. Brisbane Roar 2.5.13.11
13. Perth Glory 2.5.15.11
With AAP
