This weekend, the A-League is back in action with another round of matches as Western United take on Wellington Phoenix on Saturday. Both teams have been impressive this season and will want to win this game.
Western United are in third place in the A-League standings and will want to build on their exceptional form with another good run in the finals. The hosts suffered a 2-1 defeat against Adelaide United in their previous game and will need to bounce back in this fixture.
Wellington Phoenix, on the other hand, are in sixth place in the league table at the moment and have been plagued by inconsistency this season. The away side suffered a 2-1 defeat against Melbourne City last week and have a point to prove in this match.
FORM GUIDE
Western United: WWLDL
Wellington Phoenix: LWLWL
Western United finished the Isuzu UTE A-League Men season in third place, the Club’s highest-ever position on the table, on the back of club-record hauls in wins and points earned.
The Green and Black was in the race for the Premier’s Plate right up until the final weekend of the season and will to carry this form and confidence into the Finals campaign, despite ending the season winless in three matches.
Wellington has had an inconsistent final third of the season with some big wins matched by big losses, which saw them finish the season with the second-worst goal difference in the league.
Ufuk Talay’s side beat Western Sydney Wanderers twice in the final five games of the season between defeats to Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City but will look to make a deep run into the Finals.
TEAM NEWS
Western United will be boosted by Leo Lacroix’s return from suspension, and Josh Risdon could finally be set to make his return from injury, having not played since early March.
Those defensive reinforcements come at the perfect time, with Nikolai Topor-Stanley set to miss out through injury, while Alessandro Diamanti and Steven Lustica remain on the sidelines.
Western United vs Wellington Phoenix Predicted XI
Western United Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jamie Young; Ben Garuccio, Leo Lacroix, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Tomoki Imai; Steven Lustica, Rene Krhin; Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Adisu Bayew, Lachlan Wales; Aleksandar Prijovic
Wellington Phoenix Predicted XI (4-4-2): Alex Paulsen; Sam Sutton, Joshua Laws, Tim Payne, Scott Wootton; Nicholas Pennington, Louis Fenton, Walter Sandoval, Jaushua Sotirio; Ben Waine, David Ball
