Adelaide United has a chance to make it five wins in succession when it travels to face the Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday evening.
The last time Adelaide achieved that feat in the A-League was the day they won the Grand Final in 2016.
The Reds come into the clash off the back of a resounding 3-1 triumph over rivals Melbourne Victory, while the Jets have suffered three straight losses following a narrow setback to Sydney FC.
It is the second time the two sides meet in just over two weeks after Craig Goodwin’s 77th minute strike sealed a 2-1 victory.
Veart on the team’s training week…
It’s been excellent, the last three or four weeks the training and the enthusiasm of the playing group has been excellent and that’s what wins does to a playing group.
Veart on where the team is at at the halfway mark…
We’ve still got a long way to go. We’ve still been a little bit inconsistent, even last week there was patches in the game where we needed to be better. So there’s still a long way to go and the playing group know that, but very happy with where we sit at the moment.
Veart on takeaways from Newcastle win two weeks ago…
They’re a difficult side. All teams are difficult and it’s shown over the course of the season that you’ve got to turn up and play at your best to win, and no different tomorrow night. We’ve to turn up and it could be difficult conditions, and we’ve to work hard and then allow our quality in the front third to come through.
Veart on Stefan Mauk’s goal-scoring form…
Stefan is a great box-to-box player and you can see now that he’s getting those matches and more conditioning under his belt. Because he had an interrupted pre-season and then he’s had a few little knocks in the earlier games. So now he’s getting full fitness, and you can see when he’s got that full fitness he gets in the box and gets in there late and scores goals.
Team news
James Delianov is ruled out with a hamstring injury and will be out for at least the next month, while Mohamed Toure and Ryan Kitto are both tracking well with the latter hopefully two weeks away from returning. Tomi Juric is also unavailable due to soreness and the aim is to have him back on the pitch next week. See the extended squad here.
Head-to-head
Played: 47
Wins: 19
Draws: 14
Losses: 14
Last five meetings
2-1 win (H)
0-3 loss (H)
2-1 win (H)
1-2 win (A)
0-0 draw (A)
Key stats powered by Opta
- Adelaide United has lost only one of its last eight A-League games against Newcastle Jets (W5, D2).
- Adelaide United has made 20 tackles per game this season, the most by any side and three per game more than Newcastle (17).
- 74% of Adelaide United’s total goals (14/19) this season have been right-footed goals, the highest percentage of any team in this category.
One to watch
Kusini Yengi will be keen to pick up where he left off after an impressive, game-changing performance against Victory. The 22-year-old scored and then provided a sensational assist for Stefan Mauk. Given his athleticism and skill, he will prove a handful for Newcastle’s defence.
For the Jets, Roy O’Donovan will be looking to make an impact after a lean spell in front of goal. The Irish striker has notched two goals in 12 matches and will be hoping to break a six-game scoreless run.
Match details:
Sunday, 21 March vs Newcastle Jets
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 13
Kick-off 6.10pm ACDT
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
