Perth will be looking to delay Sydney’s minor premiership celebrations for Graham Arnold and his team on Sunday afternoon.
It’s been a month (due to the split round) but Glory finally returns home to the hallowed nib Stadium turf to take on this season’s standout squad in what promises to be another blockbuster.
Despite succumbing to a disappointing loss to Melbourne Victory on the 11th of March, Glory has had plenty of time to regroup and is raring to take on Sydney and continue the push for a home final spot.
Towering central defender Dino Djulbic earlier in the week rallied his teammates to ‘spoil their party‘, with a win over the harbour city club going a long way to potentially securing a maiden place in the Asian Champions League (ACL).
Both camps contain a myriad of star players that have set the Hyundai A-League alight, with our very own Diego Castro and Sydney’s Serbian Miloš Ninković touted as the favourites for the competitions prestigious Johnny Warren medal, which Castro sensationally won last term.
There’s plenty on the line for both sides in what should prove to be an entertaining twilight encounter in Perth.
Key Battle: Diego Castro v Miloš Ninković
It’s a true clash of the titans in the final third for each side, with the league’s greatest playmakers going head-to-head to earn maximum points. Castro has habitually proven his status as the most skilful player in the Hyundai A-League, which has been rewarded with a spot in the Team of the Week for a large majority of the season, as well as being named the Professional Footballers Australia joint-Player of the Month alongside Victory’s James Troisi. The former La Liga star has managed 10 goals and four assists in what has been another fantastic season for the Spaniard. Likewise, Ninković has been outstanding in the 2016/2017 season, with the former Dynamo Kiev player scoring eight times and leading the competition in assists with 10. You simply do not want to miss the skills, flair, vision and attacking prowess of these two superstars.
One-to-Watch: Lucian Goian
As revealed on Tuesday, former Romanian U-21 international and Dinamo Bucharesti defender Lucian Goian has signed for Glory for the remainder of the season. The experienced centre-half has been brought to the club on a short-term contract in light of season-ending injuries to local Perth boys Shane Lowry and Alex Grant. The 34-year-old signed after playing for Mumbai City in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he built a reputation as one of the competition’s finest defenders. The Romanian Championship League winner will be hoping to make his debut on Sunday.
Opta Stats:
o Perth Glory have scored 23 goals on home turf this season, only Melbourne Victory (33) have managed to find more goals on their own soil.
o Adam Taggart has scored seven goals in nine games at home so far this season.
MATCH DETAILS:
Sunday, 26th March 2017, Perth Glory v Sydney FC
Venue: nib Stadium
Kick-Off: 4:00PM (AWST)
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Grandstand Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvSYD
SQUADS
Perth Glory squad: 3.Marc WARREN, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (c), 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebo MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 13.Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joe MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Aryn WILLIAMS, 22.Adam TAGGART, 26.Lucian GOIAN, 28.Joe KNOWLES, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 15.Brandon WILSON (promoted), 16.Joe MILLS (promoted), 26.Lucian GOIAN (new signing)
Outs: 5.Rhys WILLLIAMS (international duty)
Unavailable: 2.Alex GRANT (foot – season), 4.Shane LOWRY (quad – season), 18.Mitch OXBORROW (foot – 1 week)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 4.Alex WILKINSON, 5.Jordy BUIJS, 6.Joshua BRILLANTE, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Bernie IBINI, 12.Aaron CALVER, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 17.David CARNEY, 18.Matt SIMON, 19.George BLACKWOOD, 21.Filip HOLOSKO, 24. Charles LOKOLINGOY, 40.Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 12.Aaron CALVER (promoted), 19.George BLACKWOOD (promoted), 24.Charles LOKOLINGOY (promoted), 40.Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk) (promoted)
Outs: 20.Danny VUKOVIC (gk) (international duty), 23.Rhyan GRANT (international duty)
Unavailable: 22.Seb RYALL (hamstring – 2 weeks)
