A spot in the top two is on the line as Perth Glory host Sydney FC at nib Stadium on Friday night.
The Perth Glory salary cap saga loomed in the background last Saturday night as Kenny Lowe’s side trounced a wasteful Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium to end a turbulent week on a positive. It climbed into second place on equal points with Melbourne Victory, second to the throne only through goal difference. The Glory could announce themselves as genuine title contenders with a win, seeing as thier opponents in Sky Blue have earned the tagline since January.
Sydney FC hit a road block in the form of Adelaide United last Saturday at Allianz Stadium. Awer Mabil produced a solo effort to steal all three points from a seething Graham Arnold and his dominate side which left the Sky Blues sitting in fifth place and pondering where it fell apart. Although the Sky Blues only drifted three points from pole position after losing to United, taking all three points away from the West remains massively important in the scheme of the table. The Reds have a tricky fixture against Brisbane Roar, while Wellington Phoenix travels to Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory hosts Newcastle.
Key Battle – Andy Keogh vs Marc Janko
The Perth forward finally scored his 11th A-League goal against Newcastle, sending a tidy header past Ben Kennedy. The goal was his first since December and could spark the Irishman into the form he produced towards the beginning of the season, which saw him top the goalscoring charts throughout the opening half of the year until he was reeled in by Janko.
The Austrian started slowly but has since imposed himself on the league in a big way. Janko currently sits on 16 goals, five ahead of Keogh and three in front of Socceroo Nathan Burns. Last weekend, the Sky Blues attacker was a little under par following his completion of international duties with Austria. He was able to replicate his league form on the international stage, scoring two goals in as many games.
Team News
The home side only has two casualties to injury. Youssouf Hersi continues to recover from a season-ending injury, while midfielder Ruben Zadkovich will miss again with a knee injury. Mitch Nichols and Matthew Davies were released from the club with immediate effect midweek amidst the club’s off field dramas. Nebosja Marinkovic could return to the starting eleven after scoring another cracker against Newcastle on Saturday and Jamie Maclaren may also run out following his start last weekend.
Perth Glory Expected XI (4-3-3): Vukovic (GK); Risdon, Djulbic, Thwaite, Jamieson; Griffiths, Marinkovic, Garcia; Sidnei, Maclaren, Keogh.
Sydney continues to sustain a massive injury toll which has included the likes of Sasa Ogenovksi, Corey Gamiero and Ali Abbas for much of this season. That list is only getting longer, too. Influential midfield duo of Terry Antonis and Mickael Tavares will miss the match through injury, knee and groin respectively. Shane Smeltz also has one more of his two-week suspension to serve after being sent off against Wellington a fortnight ago.
Sydney FC Expected XI (4-2-3-1): Janjetovic (GK); Ryall, Faty, Petkovic, Gersbach; Dimitrijevic, Grant; Naumoff, Brosque, Ibini; Janko.
Head-to-Head
The Sky Blues own the history books in this fixture having won 14 of 29 matches and losing only seven times to the Glory. The last time the pair met at nib Stadium was in February. Sydney ran out 3-1 victors in a rampant display, a scoreline which parallels recent results that see the Harbour side triumphant in three of the past four games.
Prediction
With so much scrutiny surrounding Perth, it is difficult to put a finger on what the mental state of the Glory players will be on Friday night. Judging by last week’s performance it will be a mixed bag, which plays into the hands of a Sydney side that will be hurting after a disappointing defeat at home.
Perth Glory 1 Sydney FC 2
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