The Weekly Wanderer: 1 vs 2

The A-League is in for a treat this weekend as the competition’s top two teams go head-to-head.

The Western Sydney Wanderers, fresh from last week’s win in the Central Coast, return to Wanderland for a match filled with Premiers’ Plate implications. John van’t Schip’s City side are a well-oiled goal-scoring machine looking for the top and, based on their form as of late, they might just get it.

The 2-1 win over the Mariners last week ended a disappointing run of three games without a win for the red and blacks. But while Brendon Santalab’s unmarked finish into the roof of the net was enough to seal the points then, Popovic and co. will be expecting a very very different beast come this Friday night.

Enter Melbourne City, the club that’s gone from Melbourne’s other team, to Manchester City’s. John van’t Schip’s side have scored a whopping 40 goals for the season thus far and are on track to eclipse Brisbane’s 2010-11 record of 58 come season’s end. The attacking trio of Aaron Mooy, Harry Novillo and Bruno Fornaroli have set the league alight and have shown no signs of slowing down. If there’s one thing you should expect from this fixture, let it be goals.

Western Sydney will welcome back club captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley (suspension) and international marquee (sadly) Federico Piovaccari to the lineup this weekend after the pair missed out on last week’s trip to Gosford. Meanwhile the visitors, reeling from last round’s 3-1 win over the Phoenix will be pleased to see Jack Clisby return from suspension.

The last time these two sides met AAMI Park witnessed an end-to-end, three goals-to-two affair that (in all honesty) should have gone by way of the visitors. Pundits are calling this one the Grand Final preview, a game that’s sure to excite the crowd and captivate this growing football nation. And they just might be right.