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Can the Wellington Phoenix continue their rich vein of form? Or will the Western Sydney Wanderers put their frustrating Club World Cup campaign behind them to get their domestic season back on track? Join The Roar from 5.00pm (AEDT) for our live scores and coverage of this Round 12 meeting to find out.
Taking on A-League opponents for the first time since their 2-0 loss to Adelaide United on December 6, the Western Sydney Wanderers are still searching for their first win of the season.
Once again they find themselves on the road, facing a red-hot Wellington Phoenix who are aiming to extend their unbeaten run to 5 matches. The Phoenix ruthlessly dismantled Sydney FC last start, while the Wanderers haven’t played since their journey to Morocco for the Club World Cup.
The Phoenix sit in 4th place while Wanderers are on 10th position on the ladder. The last time these two teams met was back in Round 5 when Phoenix won 1-nil.
How Phoenix can win:
To put it simply, the Phoenix are in sublime attacking form. They’ve netted 21 times this season, and while Nathan Burns is responsible for most of those goals (10), they’re proving themselves to be one of the form teams of the competition.
It is a concern that they continually concede goals at home; the last time they kept a clean-sheet in front of the Wellington faithful was coincidently against the Wanderers but they’ve had more than enough class to compensate for that.
The ‘Nix have pace to burn and it is this that has given them an advantage over their A-League rivals. Is there a quicker player with the ball at his feet than Roy Krishna? He’s easily one of the fastest players in the competition over 20 metres, and has been in great form over the last month.
If the Phoenix can score early, they’re a great chance of kicking on and taking this game out.
How Wanderers can win:
No team can lose forever. Now that the Club World Cup is behind them, Tony Popovic’s charges can at last direct all their attention to their A-League campaign. With the knowledge that there is a mid-season break looming on the horizon the Wanderers will want to have at least one win under their belt.
Wellington are vulnerable on the counter, something that the Wanderers have been historically very good at exploiting. Their best chance of winning this game is snagging a goal on the counter and then trying to frustrate the Phoenix out of the game. It’s a strategy that they have used very effectively, and it could be their best chance of stealing those elusive three points. The Wanderers are at the stage where entertainment certainly comes behind the need to win.
With no Topper-Stanley or Mark Bridge, other players will have opportunities to stake their claim for positions. This could potentially reinvigorate the side.
Likely Result:
Honours have been fairly even between these two teams. Playing at home is a huge advantage for the Phoenix against the travel-weary Wanderers.
Phoenix 2-1
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