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The Western Sydney Wanderers will quickly shift their attention to rivals Melbourne Victory in the A-League, with both sides chasing victory at Pirtek Stadium on Friday evening. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:15pm (AEDT).
The Wanderers will play their second match within 48 hours after beating Melbourne City in a thrilling contest on Wednesday, which ended a three-game losing streak and lifted them off the bottom of the ladder.
Victory, meanwhile, were scratching their heads over the weekend as to how they did not receive all three points in their top of the table clash against Perth Glory. A controversial Andy Keogh goal ultimately denied the Melbourne side the opportunity to reclaim top position.
Victory have suffered the consequences for their inconsistent run as they slipped down to fourth on the A-League ladder, after only managing one win in their last five matches.
Despite playing attractive football, Victory have failed to influence the scoreboard, letting crucial matches slip. So far this season, they have conceded seven goals in the last 15 minutes of play, ultimately being the difference in many of their matches.
The Wanderers have only managed to beat Victory once in their last five meetings, with Melbourne taking out three wins.
The squad depth of both sides will be put to the test as both managers are forced to field changed line-ups. Jason Geria will miss the trip to Parramatta after making spiteful comments towards Perth manager Kenny Lowe, forcing Kevin Muscat to omit him from the clash with the Wanderers. Kosta Barbarouses will also miss out due to injury, although Scott Galloway and Jesse Makarounas return to the side.
As for the Wanderers, Tony Popovic has made seven inclusions with Kerem Bulut, Romeo Castelen, Iacopo La Rocca, Alusine Fofanah and Daniel Alessi returning to the side, with youngsters Yianni Perkatis and Liam Youlley looking to make their A-League debuts.
Popovic has omitted five players from Wednesday’s match, those being Yusuke Tanaka, Mateo Poljak, Yojiro Takahagi, Nikita Rukavytsya and Jonathan Aspropotamitis.
Matthieu Delpierre’s return to action has been timed perfectly as Victory will look to their star defender for stability at the back in this latter part of the season.
The Wanderers will be significantly buoyed by the return of their newly signed striker Bulut. After missing out on Wednesday night’s win against City, Bulut will be eager to return to action in front of his much adored home fans. Despite having been charged with intimidation at a McDonalds on Wednesday night, Bulut is eligible to play.
Despite the ladder position of both these sides, this fixture always provides a thrilling contest from start to finish, with much emotion on and off the pitch. But the Wanderers’ exhausting schedule could prove too much for them on Friday night.
Prediction: Victory 2-0.
Will the Victory be able to catapult themselves back into form or will the Wanderers be able to continue their winning ways at home? Join The Roar from 7:15pm (AEST) for live scores and commentary in our live blog.
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