Adelaide United welcome Western Sydney Wanderers to Coopers Stadium on Saturday, determined to respond from its first defeat in seven games last time out.
The Reds went down 2-1 to the league leading Central Coast Mariners over a week ago and will be keen to return to the winner’s circle, ahead of another home match four days later against Macarthur FC.
Adelaide currently occupy fifth place in a congested table with just six points separating first place and sixth spot.
Western Sydney come into the clash on the back of a 2-2 draw against the Mariners on Tuesday night and are winless in its previous three fixtures.
Carl Veart’s side prevailed in the pair’s most recent encounter after a thrilling 3-2 away victory at the end of February.
Veart on how the squad is tracking…
The squad is travelling along very well at the moment. We’ve had a very good run, even though last week we didn’t get the result we were after, the performance was there though. So very happy with the performances of the players at the moment and it’s important again tomorrow night at home that we get the result.
Veart on about getting back to winning ways…
It’s about having that consistency and I think we’ve got that now. I think the football we’ve been playing especially the last four or five games has been excellent and the players are still very confident. We’ve had a very good week on the training track this week and the boys are really looking forward to playing Western Sydney Wanderers. We’ve got three games in eight days against teams that are going to be up there in the finals at the end of the season.
Veart on the Wanderers…
They’re a very good side. You look at the amount of quality players that they’ve got, they’ve got three or four players that sit on the bench that could most probably start in nearly every other team in the A-League, so they’re a very good squad. I think we’ve shown the last five or six weeks our pressure on the ball has been exceptional which has allowed us to control a lot of the games and tomorrow night will be no exception. We’re going to go out and put them under a lot of pressure and try and play our brand of football.
Team news
Michael Jakobsen has been ruled out with a hamstring strain, while Javi López is nursing a knee injury. James Delianov, Noah Smith, Mohamed Toure, and Nathan Konstandopoulos are also unavailable.
However, Ryan Kitto returns from injury, while Al Hassan Toure, Michael Marrone and Yaya Dukuly have been promoted. See the extended squad here.
Head-to-head
Played: 25
Wins: 9
Draws: 8
Losses: 8
Last five meetings
2-3 win (A)
5-2 loss (A)
2-3 loss (H)
1-3 loss (H)
1-2 win (A)
Key stats powered by Opta
- No team has made more tackles per game this A-League season than Adelaide United (19) or Western Sydney Wanderers (18); although Adelaide United (65%) boast the superior tackle success rate between the two (Western Sydney Wanderers 60%).
- Stefan Mauk has the best shot conversion rate (35%) of a player to have had at least five total shots in the A-League 2020/21 season.
- Adelaide United has scored nine goals from the 76th minute onwards this A-League 2020/21 season, the most by any team and three more than Western Sydney.
Ones to watch
Juande will be key in United’s midfield cog as the Reds look to dictate the tempo at home against a Wanderers side which are dangerous on the break. The Spanish maestro is a great passer and is also excellent at breaking up the play and stifling opposition attacks with his strong positional sense.
Mitchell Duke always poses a threat for Western Sydney with his tendency to drift into wide areas as well as occupying the number nine role. Restricting his involvement will be a must as the 30-year-old has four goals, one assist and nine key passes to his name in nine games this season.
Next match details:
Saturday, 10 April vs Western Sydney Wanderers
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 16
Kick-off 6.40pm ACST
Gates open 5.40pm ACST
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
