Western Sydney Wanderers boss Tony Popovic is refusing to dwell on Brisbane Roar’s sub-par form ahead of their crucial meeting at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night as he prepares for 90 minutes without skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
The Wanderers sit atop the A-League table on 38 points while the Roar occupy third, slipping from the summit after enduring a run of three matches without a win, including two defeats by three-goal margins.
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Alarmingly, Brisbane have shipped 11 goals in that period on matches against Newcastle (two), Perth (six) and fellow championship hopefuls Adelaide United (three).
Yet Popovic was dismissive of the Queenslanders’ form line, arguing they are there for a reason.
“If you just look at their (Brisbane’s) results, then you feel maybe they’re not doing well,” Popovic said.
“But if you look at their games closely, they’ve played well in large parts and they’ve controlled a lot of those matches.
“We’re not taking them lightly. They’re up the top of the table for a reason. They’re having a very good season and we know what to expect tomorrow: a really difficult match … they’re very strong at home.
“We want to stamp our authority on the game and perform very well.”
Western Sydney will be forced to do make do without captain Topor-Stanley, who is suspended courtesy of an accumulation of yellow cards, though numerous options are available to Popovic, including Brendan Hamill and youngster Jonathan Aspro.
“Brendan wasn’t involve last week, he’s been out now for such a long time, and young Jonathan was unfortunate getting his red card (against Wellington Phoenix).
“We’ve got two players that are fit and fresh, and they’ve both put their hand up and want to play tomorrow night.
“We’ll make a decision but regardless of who plays, we’re confident they’ll do a good job.”
Western Sydney and the Roar have shared wins in their previous two meetings this season, with a 3-1 opening day win to Brisbane followed by a 2-1 triumph in favour of the Wanderers, both at Parramatta.
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