The Roar
The Roar

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There's a grand final replay on tonight, not that you'd know it

Tomi Juric is available on a free transfer after being released by the Wanderers. (AFP PHOTO/William WEST)
Roar Guru
2nd December, 2014
14

The last time the Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers met in an A-League fixture, it was on the final day of last season. The Roar lifted the famed toilet seat as they were crowned champions in front of a sell-out Suncorp Stadium.

On Wednesday night the two teams meet and the circumstances simply could not be any different.

The game is likely to officially be a sell-out, but as seen in previous midweek fixtures, there’s a good chance some season ticket holders won’t be able to attend.

That’s where the similarities end.

The Wanderers, despite their amazing success in Asia, are anchored to the bottom of the A-League, without a win.

Meanwhile, the champions in the Roar have just the one win to their name, have just lost their marquee and best player, Thomas Broich, for at least six weeks, and are without the coach who led them to the historic double last season.

Simply put, both teams would like a win tonight, but it will be the home team who need to win.

After back-to-back draws in front of their home crowd, the Wanderers need to kick into gear to salvage their season before the top sides pull too far away.

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For the visiting Roar, a win would place them in the top six and would deliver a much needed morale boost following the news that Broich will be unavailable for almost two months.

Both teams achieved success last season on the back of their well organised defence, but nothing could be further from that this season. Both teams have shipped 12 goals in their opening seven fixtures.

Although Newcastle and Melbourne City have conceded more, the fact that defences containing the likes of Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Matthew Spiranovic and Jade North have conceded so many is unusual to say the least.

While both sides have struggled to contain their opposition, both have also struggled to find the back of the net.

Although nine goals for the Roar in seven games is hardly the end of the world, it’s not so positive when you’re conceding 12 in the same period.

The Wanderers, who boast the likes of Tomi Juric and Nikita Rukavytsya in their ranks, have only managed six goals.

It’s tough to win games when you’re averaging less than a goal a game.

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The Wanderers, who were the better side in the most recent Sydney derby despite the 1-1 scoreline, will go in as favourites on the back of home ground advantage and the injury to Broich.

Although both sides are close to the bottom of the table, it should be an entertaining affair based on the fact that both sides are almost at that stage of ‘must win’ despite being less than 10 rounds into the season.

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