A-League weekend matchday preview

Following Friday and Saturday’s A League action there are three more games over Sunday and Monday in a jam-packed gameweek.

Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar

Wellington will want to put a tough 4-3 defeat to Western Sydney behind them and get back to winning ways against Brisbane as they look to put a run together to target the playoff places. Convincing recent wins against Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets will give them confidence of the three points.

Brisbane Roar sit seventh in the table but, despite a positive start, they are without a win in five games including defeat last time out to Western United who are breathing down their necks. It is important that they pick up a win before the gap between them and the playoff places increases, although they have not won away since 20^th January.

The hosts have a couple of familiar faces to those in the UK, with ex-Brighton centre forward Tomer Hemed leading the line alongside ex-Fleetwood forward David Ball. However, their main creative outlet comes in the form of Mexican midfielder Ulises Davila, with the former Santos Laguna player a fan favourite.

For the visitors, there are a trio of recognisable names from UK days gone by. Former Celtic and Motherwell forward Scott McDonald is rolling back the years with three goals in eight appearances for Roar, whilst James O’Shea, who spent a number of seasons at Chesterfield plays in midfield for the club. Ex-Blackpool defender Tom Aldred is the key at the heart of the defence and will be hopeful of keeping a rare clean sheet in this one.

Newcastle Jets vs Adelaide United

Newcastle Jets will face a difficult task as high-flying Adelaide come to town. Jets are without a win in three games and have only won three in 12 league games so far. They performed admirably in the reverse fixture, losing 2-1 in a tight affair and will hope for a similar performance in this one to keep tabs on their opponents.

Adelaide have been in fine form in recent times, with four victories in a row cementing their place in the top two, although they still trail Central Coast Mariners by six points at the top of the division. United have beaten both Mariners and Western Sydney in recent weeks and will take confidence from the number of goals they have been scoring, despite still possessing a fairly leaky defence.

Jets are another side who are much more Australian-based than many of those in an increasingly diverse league, with ex-Coventry and Northampton forward Roy O’Donovan playing up top in a forward two.

The other man in that frontline is the main outlet for Adelaide, a side that have tended to share the goals around a number of positions rather than a focal point, with Valentino Yuel netting four times so far. A South Sudanese international, Yuel has come from relative obscurity to take his chance in 2020/21.

United are lacking in terms of UK representation, although another Espanyol legend in Javi Lopez sits in the heart of defence alongside ex-Danish international Mikael Jacobsen, providing an experienced base to build from.

The talent comes in their Australian figureheads with Tomi Juric providing four goals in his seven appearances so far alongside 16-year-old wonderkid Mohamed Toure who has started most games this season up top, netting three times.

Melbourne City vs Central Coast Mariners

The game of the weekend comes in Melbourne as table toppers Central Coast head to City. The hosts, like Adelaide, have had four victories in a row going into this one taking the scalps of the likes of Western Sydney and their city rivals Victory in a 6-0 win. They will be looking for similar as they look to close the gap at the top.

As for Mariners, having ended the last campaign in bottom place, it is all change halfway through the 2020/21 season as they sit six points clear at the top of the ladder. The Mariners played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Perth Glory last time out and are capable of shipping goals, but they have been deadly in front of goal and will see this as another opportunity to stretch their muscles.

There are a number of familiar players in the City lineup to those in the UK, with former Brighton winger Craig Noone a key figure. Ex-Newcastle centre half Curtis Good is another who has been a mainstay in the side during the 2020/21 campaign.

But it is ex-Hibernian striker Jamie MacLaren that is the main man for City. His ten goals in ten games see him far ahead in the top scorer chart ahead of former Blackburn and Nottingham Forest man Matt Derbyshire. Not forgetting of course Patrick Kisnorbo, the City boss, formerly of Leeds.

Mariners are known for producing current Celtic attacking midfielder Tom Rogic, but their current UK representation is sparse. Marcos Arena, the Costa Rican forward, will be known to some from his appearances in major international tournaments in the past decade. Whilst, Oliver Bozanic will be familiar to Hearts supporters after he spent a couple of successful seasons in Edinburgh.

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