With Western Sydney’s A-League season well and truly shelved, and Brisbane’s on its way (save for a dramatic turn in the Perth Glory saga), the Asian Champions League has become a bit more valuable for the two Australian sides.
The Wanderers long ago traded in their A-League ambitions for a spot of mid-season rebuilding and adopted Plan B of defending their continental title.
Meanwhile, the Roar are left praying to Pythagoras, needing a perfect run home and a Melbourne City capitulation to defend their domestic crown.
The two meet South Korean opposition in the reverse fixture of the ACL’s last round; Wanderers hosting FC Seoul on Tuesday and Brisbane playing in Suwon a day later.
They find themselves in similar positions at the halfway point of the group stage – both on four points and seemingly locked in a two-way battle for the second qualification spot.
In Wanderers’ Group H, Guangzhou Evergrande are running away with things, having won all three of their matches this campaign. It’s the same case in Roar’s Group G, with Beijing Guoan cruising on nine points. Given both of those sides face winless opposition on match day four, the Aussie contingent’s chances of advancing to the round of 16 have been halved.
So this week’s fixtures could be decisive for both Wanderers and Roar. The winner of their respective matches will grab a stranglehold of second spot and control their own fate with two games remaining. It’s shaping as Tony Popovic and Frans Thijssen’s most crucial games this season.
Neither side has the form book on their side. Wanderers have won just two from their last ten, despite signs of improvement in recent weeks. Roar haven’t got much to write home about either, only winning three from ten.
But there is momentum in both camps. Western Sydney have looked far more fluid of late, though still a world away from their form in the back half of last season. Since the rousing 4-1 win in Brisbane a fortnight ago, they’ve been pipped by Perth at the death and pegged back by Melbourne City.
As Wanderers’ fans patience grows thinner by the day, they will be starting to regain faith in Popovic’s plan – this one far bolder than last season’s rotation policy. His increasing allegiance to the club’s youth setup is paying dividends, with Jonathan Aspro, Steve Kuzmanovski and Alusine Fofanah all given valuable first-team experience recently.
Kerem Bulut will likely return to the starting line-up, having been rested against City at the weekend. Tomi Juric, who seems to have recovered from the groin injury he sustained before jetting off on Socceroos duty, will benefit from a spot on the bench after labouring through 80 minutes on Friday.
With Nikita Rukavystya doing his hamstring in the City draw, Labinot Haliti should take his place on the wing, while defender Antony Golec has been given a chance of returning from injury.
Wanderers left Seoul with a valuable point in a 0-0 draw last month but would have felt short changed, having had the better of the chances through Romeo Castelen, Haliti and Bulut.
It will give them confidence of breaking down the Seoul defence on Tuesday – Tony Popovic suggesting he’ll favour attack to give the defending champions some breathing space in their group.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position to go through in a very tough group and we have two home matches coming up,” he said.
“This one is a crucial one for both teams and we’ll make sure the team we put out on Tuesday gives it their all. We want a positive result on Tuesday and if we can get that we know that we’ve put one foot into the next round.”
Meanwhile, Brisbane snapped a three-game losing streak with a rousing 6-1 thumping of Central Coast. There were plenty of positives for Thijssen to take from the match: young guns Brandon Borello and Devante Clut on the scoresheet and the return from injury of Thomas Broich among the obvious high gained from such a big win.
Though Broich picked up another knock and was forced off at half-time, he’ll travel to Seoul with his teammates and will likely be risked even if not fully fit.
Henrique is the most notable change from the last time these two teams met in that epic 3-3 thriller on the Gold Coast a few weeks back, having been ruled out for the season.
AFC rules mean Roar can’t replace Henrique with another visa player until the knockout stage, leaving Jean Carlos Solarzano in the stands.
Suwon’s greatest danger last time out was their swift counter attack, with Roar left scrambling for all three goals, the first courtesy of a cheap Luke Brattan turnover.
The draw means Roar can’t afford to settle for a point.
“With Beijing so far ahead, the rest of the group is tight and anything could happen,” Thijssen said.
“This game looms as our toughest so far, but we have to get something out of it so we are not relying on other results to advance.
“Suwon are a strong, physical team and we expect them to attack us from the start.”
Last year’s A-League finalists have endured a forgettable run on the domestic front this season, but will go a long way to atoning for their woes with victory in Asia this week.
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