Preview
Friday night brings the A-League to the West Coast as Perth Glory face Brisbane Roar in Matchday 15. Top-of-the-table Brisbane Roar will have their work cut out for themselves against a quality Perth side that find themselves in 5th position.
Brisbane Roar have been superb this. Table toppers, and rightly so, Brisbane has the utmost confidence coming into tonight’s clash. A testament to himself, Mike Mulvey has got his team playing an extremely attractive, and successful, brand of football.
The A-League’s current inform striker, Besart Berisha, is hungry to catch up on the goals he missed out on whilst injured, and youngster Dimitri Petratos has been scoring goals for fun after his memorable hattrick against his former club, Sydney FC.
However, in a game that shocked many, Brisbane were undone by low flying Adelaide United by two goals to one at home. A lacklustre and influent Brisbane display came as a surprise as the upset came a week after Brisbane were faultless against Melbourne Victory and comes to show that Brisbane are not as unbeatable as many would suggest. Mulvey had warned pundits not to over hype his side. Clearly, he was right.
Perth Glory come into their home game off the back of two straight wins, including an impressive 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets away from home. Clearly reinvigorated by the departure of Alistair Edwards and all the drama that followed, the team has banded together to produce consistent and quality performances.
Furthermore, Perth Glory will most likely welcome fan-favourite and A-League icon, Shane Smeltz, back to a starting position having missed the start of the season due to injury. The Kiwi International was formidable when he came off the bench last week, securing a brace within three minutes.
Smeltz’s return to the starting lineup will be joined by marquee man and household name, William Gallas, who returns to the matchday squad after a short absence. The former English Premier League defender will bring much needed experience and leadership to an in-form Perth Glory outfit.
It seems as if Perth, coming into one of the biggest games of their season, has all the required tools to knock off Brisbane. Form suggests a similar idea. However, it is simply too hard to write off Brisbane Roar, who have recaptured the form they thrived on under the Ange Postecoglou regime. This game has the potential to be incredible.
Head to Head and Form Guide
Played 26. Glory: 5. Draws: 5. Roar: 16.
Last Meeting: 30/11/13 at Suncorp Stadium. Brisbane 1-0 Perth
Heart: LDLLL. Jets: DLLWL.
Absentee List:
Perth Glory: Travis Dodd, Scott Jamieson, Jamie Maclaren (All injured), Jack Duncan, Ryan Edwards (Both international duty)
Brisbane Roar: Diogo Ferreira (Suspended), Ivan Franjic, James Donachie, George Lambadardis (All injured), Corey Brown (International duty)
Probable XI:
Perth Glory (4-3-2-1): Vukovic; Woodcock, Thwaite, Gallas, Davies; Zahra, McGarry, Burns; Sidnei, Cernak; Smeltz
Brisbane Roar (4-3-3): Theo; Stefanutto, Smith, North, Hingert; McKay, Brattan, Miller; Broich, Berisha, Petratos
Eyes On…
Dimitri Petratos. The youngster has scored 4 goals in 3 games and doesn’t look like stopping there. Ever since he returned to the A-League, Petratos has seemed like a man on a mission after his falling out at Sydney FC. The kid has bucket loads of talent and will surely be on fire for tonight’s game
Prediction
This clash has got me very excited. I can see goals and great play written all over this game. Furthermore, the rivalry between these two clubs after the ending of that infamous Grand Final will see both players and fans hungry for three points. Perth are in a nice patch of form, and with the return of Shane Smeltz, Perth have the potential to snatch the points. Brisbane, however, won’t go down without a fight and will come out victors.
Predicted Score: PER 2:3 BRI (HT 1:2)
FTSAL Fact
Perth Glory have played more and lost less home games than Brisbane Roar. However, Brisbane Roar have won 6 out of 8 away games this year.
