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Wellington Phoenix
0
96
Western Sydney Wanderers FC
3
| 92' |  | J. O'Doherty | ||
| T. Doyle |  | 87' | ||
| 74' | | R. Bonevacia | ||
| 55' | | O. Riera | ||
| A. Durante | | 54' | ||
| A. Rufer | | 20' | ||
| 11' | | A. Baumjohann |
| 12 | Shots | 19 | ||
| 4 | On Target | 6 | ||
| 13 | Fouls | 21 | ||
| 11 | Corners | 5 | ||
| 4 | Offsides | 1 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
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The Wellington Phoenix and Western Sydney Wanderers meet in Round 3 A-League action at Westpac Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:35pm (AEDT).
It has been an impressive start to the season for the Phoenix with a win and a draw from their first two matches. No franchise has secured more points than the four they hold heading into the third round.
With their opposition looking far from impressive over that same period, this match is an opportunity to claim all three points on home soil and potentially, head the A-League table by the completion of the round.
It would be a stunning turn around for the Phoenix, with new manager Mark Rudan trying to build some resilience and pride into his squad.
His message appears to have already had a significant impact with a real toughness and fortitude in Wellington’s work, particularly defensively, over the first two weeks. Steven Taylor has been assertive at the back and Roy Krishna finally has a little support up front, with David Willams and Liberato Cacace providing additional attacking options.
Western Sydney welcome Nick Fitzgerald into the squad for this week, in what is a much-needed boost for a team with just a lone point from two matches. It would leave little wriggle room if the Wanderers aren’t able to take something from the trip to Wellington.
It just hasn’t clicked for the Wanderers thus far and there appears a disconnected between the midfield supply and Oriol Riera up front which has denied him enough quality opportunities. Admittedly, he has been a little sloppy in front of goal at times as well.
Alex Baumjohann looks the man most likely for the Wanderers and could form a dangerous attacking duo with Roly Bonevacia if there are able to combine and gel in the middle of the park.
Prediction
I’m sticking with the Phoenix in this one after being impressed over the first couple of weeks. They do need to ensure they find increased avenues to goal, however, the defensive fortress they are building at the back should be enough to keep out a rather unconvincing Wanderers attack.
Wellington Phoenix 1 – Western Sydney Wanderers 0.
Where: Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
When: Saturday 3rd November 2018, 5:35pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Sports
Betting: Wellington Phoenix $2.70, Draw $3.60, Western Sydney Wanderers $2.60
Wellington Phoenix
1.Filip Kurto (Gk), 4.Mandi Sosa, 5.Ryan Lowry, 6.Dylan Fox, 8.Mitch Nichols, 9.Nathan Burns, 11.David Williams, 13.Liberato Cacace, 14.Alex Rufer, 15.Michal Kopzcynski, 16.Louis Fenton, 18.Sarpreet Singh, 19.Tom Doyle, 20.Oliver Sail (Gk), 21.Roy Krishna, 22.Andrew Durante (C), 23.Max Burgess, 27.Steven Taylor
Western Sydney Wanderers
1.Danijel Nizic (Gk), 4.Josh Risdon, 5.Brendan Hamill (C), 7.Nick Fitzgerald, 8.Jordan O’Doherty, 9.Oriol Riera, 10.Alex Baumjohann, 11.Bruce Kamau, 12.Ruon Tongyik, 13.Tass Mourdoukouas, 16.Jaushua Sotirio, 17.Keanu Baccus, 20.Vedran Janjetovic (Gk), 21.Tarek Elrich, 22.Rashid Mahazi, 24.Raul Llorente, 28.Roly Bonevacia, 49.Abraham Majok
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