Brisbane Roar welcome Newcastle Jets to Suncorp Stadium with both teams hoping to emerge with three points, but for very different reasons.
Brisbane are sitting pretty on equal top of the table, where another win will put the pressure back on Western Sydney, while Newcastle are still vying for a finals spot, with a win at Suncorp keeping their slim chances alive.
Key battle – Corona vs Mateo Poljak
Two midfield anchors come face to face with both teams having to rely upon these key players in order to win the game. Within a game of football, the midfield is the engine, it’s where the tackles get made, the passes originate, the defence is protected and the forwards are supplied with ammunition.
Without a solid, well-balanced midfield, no matter how good the rest of the team is, they will not win. This is no different throughout the A-League and it represents why these two players are key, and their battle for supremacy will be even more important.
For Brisbane, Corona is the heart. His metronomic passing, fitness and eye for an intercept has established him as not only Brisbane’s most important midfielder, but also one of the supreme midfielders in the league, and one of the offseason purchases of the year. His finish last week against a meek Central Coast also highlighted his eye for goal, combining with his dead ball ability and general play to make the essential midfielder. For Brisbane to emerge victorious this week, Corona will have to control the game.
On the other hand, Mateo Poljak is not too bad himself. While he has not had the same game winning influence as Corona, his presence in Newcastle’s midfield does provide stability in a squad that looks unbalanced and confused at times with older players unable to provide help and cover for the youngsters.
Poljak made a name for himself at the Western Sydney Wanderers, a team that prided themselves on defensive solidarity. Poljak’s ability to bring that same mindset to the Jets will be integral if they are to avoid another 6-1 loss such as the game three weeks ago against Perth.
Team news
For Newcastle it seems like new signing Morten Nordstrand is edging closer to his first start, and if this game proves to be his starting debut then Mitch Cooper may be the one to make way. The loss of winger David Carney does not look to have hurt the Jets with enough cover across the wide positions. The team looks as close to full strength as possible, leaving the club with no excuses.
For Brisbane it is a case of the same as last week, injuries are thinning out, and the squad is ticking along nicely after a couple of mid-season hitches.
Head coach John Aloisi is faced with two main dilemmas. Firstly, should James Donachie continue at centre back or is it time for Luke DeVere to return to the starting squad, and the other is who to play with Corona and Matt McKay in midfield; Dimitri Petratos or Steven Lustica. No matter how Aloisi answers those questions, there are definitely worse issues he could be facing.
Head-to-head
On the 32 occasions in which these two teams have faced each other it is evenly split, with Brisbane and Newcastle both winning 12 games apiece, while eight matches have finished level.
Previous meeting
It was 10 rounds ago that these two teams met at Hunter Stadium in a game that finished 1-1. Goals to Ben Kantarovski and Jamie Maclaren cancelled each other out in a tightly contested match.
Prediction
Yes, Newcastle beat Melbourne City last week, and yes, they are shaping up in a more compact formation since the 6-1 blowout, however, this is the high-flying Brisbane Roar they are up against, a team that took apart Central Coast last week and recovered admirably from the two four-goal losses from last month. Expect a dominant performance from the home team as they look to win consecutive home games.
Brisbane Roar 3 Newcastle Jets 1
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