Perth Glory and Adelaide United square off at nib Stadium, as both teams search for their first win of the A-League season.
Two games into the season, it is a fair bet both teams would have liked to have notched up their first win of the season already. But as we head into round three, both Perth Glory and Adelaide United are searching for their first victory. The visitors managed to win a point at home to title favourites Melbourne Victory, but were unable to better the result when they hosted the Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend. While new coach Guillermo Amor will be pleased with an undefeated start to his reign, there is no doubt he will be stressing the importance of quickly claiming their first victory of the season.
The daggers were out for Perth after two disappointing losses to Central Coast and Wellington to start the season. However, a midweek FFA Cup semi-final win over Melbourne City has boosted confidence out west. Imports Gyorgy Sandor and Diego Castro both made an impact in the win, while the defence did well to quell a dangerous Melbourne attack. While the clash with the Reds will be their third game in seven days, the squad knows a win is a must in order to kick-start their league campaign.
Key Battle – Josh Risdon vs Sergio Cirio
Arguably the best right-back in the league goes up against Adelaide’s most dangerous attacker. Risdon is the full package at full-back; a tenacious defender capable of frustrating his opponent, while his pace and crossing makes him a threat going forward. In the second half of the win over Melbourne City, Risdon pushed forward more and tormented Ben Garrucio. He nearly had two assists, was probably the best player in the second half and Perth looked a much better team for it.
On the other hand, Cirio is full of guile and trickery; his trickery and ability to constantly beat his opposite number has made him a star in the league. He provided nine assists last season, in addition to seven goals, marking him as one of the league’s best wingers. He got the better of Risdon in last year’s FFA Cup final (the Perth defender was sent off) and if the Spaniard can work his magic again this time around, it bodes well for Adelaide.
Team News
Perth will welcome back Richard Garcia, who missed the midweek win over Melbourne due to a suspension. Otherwise, there is unlikely to be many changes from the semi-final win. Ruben Zadkovich is still weeks off returning.
Perth Glory Expected XI (4-4-2): Covic (GK); Risdon, Djulbic, Thwaite, Warren; Harold, Sandor, Marinkovic, Garcia; Fernandez, Castro.
The visitors will miss striker Eli Babalj, who is out for the next six weeks with a foot injury. He will join Eugene Galekovic and Iacappo La Rocca on the sidelines, neither of whom are expected back soon. While it is a tough pill for Reds fans to swallow, the good news is Bruce Djite is back from a groin injury, although it would be no surprise to see him start on the bench.
Adelaide United Expected XI (4-3-3): Hall; Elrich, Marrone, McGowan, Goodwin; Carrusca, Malik, Isaias; Jeggo, Sanchez, Cirio.
Head-to-Head
The ledger is clearly in Adelaide’s favour, having secured 14 wins and eight draws from 30 games against the Glory. It is more even in WA, with both sides winning four games each and sharing the points five times.
Previous Meeting
Perth came from a goal down to cling onto top spot in the A-League. Despite an early Pablo Sanchez strike for the Reds, a Nebojsa Marinkovic special from outside the box leveled the scores. Despite dominating the game, Adelaide were unable to find a way past an inspired Danny Vukovic in goals and were forced to share the points.
Prediction
Despite Perth’s win over Melbourne City in midweek, it is worth remembering City rested some big names, including Michael Zullo, Erik Paartalu and Robert Koren. As alluded to earlier, this will be Perth’s third game in seven days, and while all of them were home games, it will still have drained the team slightly. Like Perth, Adelaide will be desperate to grab their first win of the season, but without the likes of Babalj, Iacappo La Rocca and Eugene Galekovic, an away win is a big ask. There is definitely more than enough talent in this Reds side to claim all three points, but against a Perth side buoyed by reaching another FFA Cup final, it could be a tough ask.
Perth Glory 1 Adelaide United 1
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