Perth Glory FC will be aiming for its third win against top of the table rivals Wellington Phoenix, when the two best sides in the Hyundai A-League clash at nib stadium on Saturday night.
The teams kicked-off their campaign against each other in Round 1, where Glory striker Andy Keogh scored on debut, to help Perth take away the three points in New Zealand with a 2-1 victory.
Glory scored the same result six weeks later at nib Stadium.
The ‘Distance Derby’ this weekend will have some extra feeling with both sides gunning for the premiership, while each has a world class striker trying to catch Sydney’s Marc Janko, who currently leads the Golden Boot (13).
Phoenix striker Nathan Burns (12), who will be absent because of injury, and Andy Keogh (10) have both been in inspiring form in front of goal this season, but Keogh said team success, is his only motivation.
“My job is mainly to score goals, but if I can put in a shift up front and the other boys bang them in and we get the result then I’m happy”.
“We’ve been at the top for 17 weeks and we quite like it up there. The fact that we’ve been able to do it while not playing our best, shows just how good this bunch of boys are,” Keogh said.
“We fought hard last week in front of a pretty hostile crowd in Melbourne and managed to bag a point, now we’re back to nib [Stadium] and hope our fans can pack the place and let them know that Glory means business.”
Glory will be without influential playmaker, Mitch Nichols, who picked up two yellow cards last weekend. The Socceroo has been impressive since making his return in February after a hamstring injury.
However former Hull City winger and Perth local, Richard Garcia, is expected to return to the match day squad after missing last week’s clash in Melbourne.
The Kiwi outfit have plenty of firepower, however in form striker Burns has been ruled out of Saturday’s clash, with Glory’s defenders no doubt breathing a sigh of relief.
This Saturday night has all the hallmarks of a Hyundai A-League epic.
Kick–off is at 6.30pm.
You can get your tickets at the gate or click here now.
Hyundai A-League Fact #1
The most common result between the two sides is a 1-1 draw, which has happened six times since it was first played backed in September, 2007.
Hyundai A-League Fact #2
Dragan Paljic has settled into Hyundai A-League life well, boasting an impressive 85% passing accuracy and 87% tackling success rate.
Hyundai A-League Fact #3
Danny Vukovic will break the record for the most appearances by a Hyundai A-Leaue player ever, should he claim his 222nd cap on Saturday evening.
Match Details:
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 6:30 PM (Local) (9:30 PM AEDT)
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: Mathew Cheeseman
Assistant Referee 2: Josh Mannella
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live and exclusive coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 9.30pm (AEDT)
Radio Broadcast: Online/ABC Radio Mobile phone app.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvWEL
Perth Glory FC squad: 1.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 4.Riley WOODCOCK, 5.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 14.Chris Harold, 15.Jamie MACLAREN, 16.Sidnei SCIOLA, 18.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Daniel DE SILVA, 21.Scott JAMIESON, 23.Michael THWAITE (c), 27.Dragan PALJIC, 28.Denis KRAMAR
***two to be omitted***
Ins: 4.Riley WOODCOCK (promoted), 11.Richard GARCIA (promoted), 16.Sidnei SCIOLA (promoted)
Outs: 17.Mitch NICHOLS (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 7.Youssouf HERSI (hamstring – season), 13.Diogo FEREIRA (hip – 2 weeks)
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Glen MOSS (GK), 2.Manny MUSCAT, 3.Joel GRIFFITHS, 4.Roly BONEVACIA, 5.Michael BOXALL, 10.Michael McGLINCHEY, 13.Albert RIERA, 14.Alex RUFER, 15.Jason HICKS, 16.Louis FENTON, 17.Vince LIA, 18.Ben SIGMUND, 19.Tom DOYLE, 20.Lewis ITALIANO (GK), 21.Roy KRISHNA, 22.Andrew DURANTE (c), 29.Joel STEVENS
***one to be omitted***
Ins: 2.Manny MUSCAT (returns from suspension), 14.Alex RUFER (promoted), 29.Joel STEVENS (promoted)
Outs: 8.Alex RODRIGUEZ (hamstring – 1 week), 9.Nathan BURNS (hip – 1 week)
Unavailable: 6.Josh BRINDELL-SOUTH (shoulder – 4 weeks), 7.Kenny CUNNINGHAM (hamstring – 2 weeks), 11.Kwabena APPIAH (calf – 1 week), 12.Tyler BOYD (ankle – 2 weeks), 23.Matthew Ridenton (knee – 2 weeks)
