The second of Saturday A-League Round 26 matches is between Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar. The game is set to commence at 7.45pm AEDT with the game to be played at Pirtek Stadium. Home team Western Sydney Wanderers go into the match as the favourites in the market. View our live scores and teams for the game between Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar.
Round: Round 26, Saturday April 5 at 7.45pm AEDT.
Stadium: Pirtek Stadium
Head to head: Played: 6, Wins: Wanderers 4, Roar 1, Draws: 1
Previous encounter: Wanderers 1-1 Roar, February 7 2014
Odds Comparison:
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| Western Sydney Wanderers | 2.40 | 2.37 | 2.30 | 2.37 | 2.40 | 2.38 |
| Draw | 3.30 | 3.35 | 3.20 | 3.35 | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Brisbane Roar | 2.75 | 2.90 | 3.00 | 2.90 | 2.75 | 2.88 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Preview:
This big match takes place on Saturday, 7.45PM at Parramatta Stadium. The Brisbane Roar have already secured the Premiers Plate, so should be pretty relaxed heading into this game. In contrast, the Wanderers will be desperate to win here and grab second ladder position, especially after their loss to the Central Coast Mariners last round.
Brisbane head into this game with five wins in a row, streaking 12 points clear at the top of the table. The Roar will have to play without Berisha this weekend, however, after he was sent off last week in a controversial decision. Even though the Roar are unbeaten against the Wanderers this season, Western Sydney have a history of worrying the Roar, and might just have the hunger this weekend to pull off a victory.
Teams:
Western Sydney Wanderers squad:
1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Shannon COLE, 4.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5.Michael BEAUCHAMP (c), 6.Jerome POLENZ, 7.Labinot HALITI 8.Mateo POLJAK, 9.Tomi JURIC, 10.Aaron MOOY, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 14.Kwabena APPIAH, 17.Youssouf HERSI, 18.Iacopo LA ROCCA, 19.Mark BRIDGE, 20.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 21.Shinji ONO, 22. Dean HEFFERNAN
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC (promoted), 7.Labinot HALITI (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 3.Adam D’APUZZO (groin – 1 week), 12.Tahj MINNIECON (hip – indefinite), 34.Golgol MEBRAHTU (knee – indefinite)
Brisbane Roar squad:
1.Michael THEO, 2.Matthew SMITH (c), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Steven LUSTICA, 10.HENRIQUE, 11.Liam MILLER, 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Diogo FERRIERA, 15.James DONACHIE, 16.Jean Carlos SOLORZANO, 17.Matt McKAY, 18.Luke BRATTAN, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Matthew ACTON (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 26.Corey BROWN
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Ivan FRANJIC (returns from injury), 18.Luke BRATTAN (returns from injury), 26.Corey BROWN (returns from injury)
Outs: 7.Besart BERISHA (suspension – 1 week)
Unavailable: 25.George LAMBADARDIS (knee – season)
News:
Mike Mulvey’s troops have the luxury of knowing they are already through to week two of the Hyundai A-League finals but aren’t expecting an easy ride over the next fortnight.
Roar face Western Sydney (away) this weekend at an expected packed out Wanderland before a home clash against defending champions Central Coast in round 27 to complete the regular season.
Both Wanderers and Mariners are fighting to finish in the all-important second spot, meaning there will be no ‘dead-rubbers’ for the Roar before the finals.
“Obviously it still hasn’t been determined who finishes where so we know both those side’s will be going all out against us,” Roar defender North told www.footballaustralia.com.au.
“It’s perfect for us because they’ll be throwing everything at us because they’ll be wanting to finish as high as possible.
“It’s just what we need before the finals start. The boys are very focused about each game and making sure we win and keep building the momentum for the finals.
“We don’t care who we play, we just have to worry about what we do and our performance and if we stick to that we’ll have a good chance to win the championship.”
North said the Roar were bracing for a fired-up Wanderers and expects them to be at the top of their game despite their inconsistent results of late and a midweek ACL trip to Japan.
He rates Tony Popovic’s side as a serious contender for the title and the two teams played out an entertaining 1-1 draw when they last met at Pirtek Stadium in February.
“They always seem to rise against us,” North said of the Wanderers.
“We know what they’ve done last year to this year, Poppa’s got them well-drilled and they are a very disciplined team.
“They are going to be tough, they need a result and they perform very well at home as well.
“We have to be aware of that but like I said we shouldn’t worry about them we just need to worry about ourselves.”
North, who joined the Roar midway through last season, admits it’s been a treat to play alongside the wealth of talent in the Brisbane squad.
But he acknowledged the influence of Mulvey for being able to mould the side into his style and return them to the top of the Hyundai A-League.
“He’s (Mulvey) turned things around for us and he’s got a lot of our personalities together,” North said.
“There’s a lot of things you have to juggle in a football team and he’s done a great job and you have to give credit to him because we’re flying high at the moment.
“That’s where we want to be and he’s really driven us forward this season. He gives us a lot of confidence, lets us express ourselves and we always try and find a way to win.”
The Socceroos defender is confident he is now over the hamstring problems that saw him miss two matches before his successful return against Melbourne Heart last Friday.
Source: footballaustralia.com.au