Chasing Three-of-a-kind

 

Eric Berry looks at his Western Sydney Wanderers  – Follow him on twitter @efcso

The first game of this weekend’s fixtures will have the buoyant Western Sydney Wanderers playing host to the in-form Adelaide United. Adelaide are undoubtedly one of the in-form teams at the moment, fresh from a commanding display last week and seemingly scoring goals for fun. The Wanderers, although a little further down the table, are full of confidence after a convincing win against cross-town rivals Sydney FC in last week’s second Sydney Derby.

In our last meeting, Adelaide won by a single, and some would say fortunate, goal following a lightning-paced counterattack by the Reds. Adelaide’s ability to scythe through defences in seconds has been their major strength, and it is this part of their game that we will have to be working hard against if we want to keep any points at Wanderland. One moment of inattention, as we found out last time, can be fatal.

Maintaining one of the tightest defences, with the commanding midfield trio of Poljak, Mooy and Ono ahead of them, has been our strength and Popa has been working them hard to keep their sharpness. It is obviously working, as demonstrated by the week-on-week improvements shown on the pitch by the players.

The midfield has also been vital in the transition to attack, with Ono starting to really show his abilities when taking on players and distributing the ball. His range of movement and reading the game has started to flourish. As one pundit declared, he can move like a ballet dancer with the skills of a ninja – something I have seen to myself many times on the training pitch.

Up front we are still struggling to find the back of the net consistently. Despite what some have said, “Big Dino” Kresinger is very popular with the fans and members of the club. Sure, he hasn’t been scoring, but his work rate and work ethic are beyond reproach. We trust Popa, we believe in Dino. He came off the bench to good effect last week and this could be continued, giving him the chance to run at the tired defences after Joey Gibbs has worn them down.

Even with a full 21-man squad available for selection, I don’t expect to see many changes from the successful starting XI of the past 2 weeks. Probably Mooy will come back into the starting lineup and Mark Bridge – now available following a minor injury – will likely get the nod on the left wing.

This will be a cagey match, maybe not the most entertaining fixture of the round, as the Reds try to batter down the Great Wall of Wanderland.

Based on their current form, Adelaide should prevail, but only by a single goal against our stern defensive team. My money will still be on the Wanderers though, but also only by a single goal.

WSW – 4th	WIN	LOSS	LOSS	WIN	WIN
REDS – 2nd	WIN	WIN	LOSS	WIN	WIN
Form Rating	WSW	1.80	Cautioned	D’Apuzzo	4 yellow cards
	REDS	2.40		Boogaard	4 yellow cards

 

Head to Head

Western Sydney 0 wins Draws 0 Adelaide 1

Earlier this Season – Adelaide 1 defeated Western Sydney 0

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