By the Palm Trees – Central Coast Mariners vs Western Sydney Wanderers

This weekend is the time when the Central Coast Mariners will make a statement about where they sit in terms of this season’s competition. It’s the last scheduled A-League home match at Central Coast Stadium and it’s an unfamiliar position for Mariners fans, as for the last few seasons we’ve generally been assured of our finals position before now. Win the Grand Final rematch on Saturday against our arch rivals Wanderers and we give ourselves a shot at making second place and gaining the real benefit of the week off and home ground advantage. Lose and we find ourselves fighting for the scraps in a closely packed 3^rd to 7^th, and wondering whether we have any chance of a home final. This could be the last chance we have to make use of our fortress to position ourselves for the business end of the season. With our final two matches away in Perth and Brisbane, the three points on offer on Saturday night could be vital.

We have a good record against the Wanderers having not been beaten by them at Central Coast Stadium this season and only ever having lost in two of the six matches we’ve played against them. The statistics sit at two wins, two draws and two losses but importantly, one of our wins was when it mattered most.

It’s been a pretty hot schedule recently with A-League and ACL commitments but this week we’re fortunate to have had the week at home to prepare for this match. In addition, we don’t have an immediate trip to Asia after it in our minds. Having already played two of our six7 group matches away we now look forward to the next two ACL games at home, with the second of those not taking place until the week after our final scheduled A-League match in Brisbane. This should mean our troops will come out fresh and relatively free of any minor injuries as well as having had the opportunity to spend plenty of our time preparing for what will no doubt be a tight and tactical battle between two well organised teams.

While both sides will have the opportunity this time to select from the full squads without the need to rest players who might have played recent ACL matches, for the Wanderers in particular the challenge of travelling to Japan straight after this game and balancing their playing staff having to undertake a significant travel distance will have an effect. Wanderers come into the match on the back of a return to form against cellar dwellers Perth Glory but previously having won only one of their last three A-League encounters. While the win should have them displaying a level of confidence, Coach Tony Popovic will be looking to establish consistency by winning this match.

For the Mariners, while they failed to get the ACL points in Beijing last week, they come into this match with a level of consistency not often seen this season winning their last two A-League matches and after performing well to collect the three points in the previous ACL encounter with Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

There is no doubt this match will be played with a back drop of two teams who are desperate not to give away the points, but when the game opens up as the two teams tire I expect a winner will be determined. While most will make the opposite prediction, I’m going to predict Mariners can return the favour (after losing the last encounter at Parramatta) by taking the points and putting themselves into the best possible position as we head to our remaining A-League away fixtures.

Mariners by 1

Google+