Fresh off ending a four-game winless run, Sydney FC take on Newcastle Jets at the Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors are second bottom on the log and will be desperate to grab all three points as they seek to get their season back on track.
Match preview
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Sydney tasted victory for the first time in over a month when they took on Western United on Wednesday.
Their last win came on February 8, when Kosta Barbarouses scored a goal in each half to give Steve Corica's men a 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix.
Brazilian-born striker Bobo gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot before Rhyan Grant completed the scoring early in the second half as Sydney strolled to a comfortable 2-0 win over Mark Rudan's side.
The visitors, meanwhile, saw their five-game unbeaten run end when they stumbled to a 2-0 loss against fellow strugglers Wellington Phoenix.
This was followed by last week's 2-1 loss to Adelaide United, where Craig Goodwin's second-half strike condemned Craig Deans's men to a second straight defeat.
They are currently 11th in the league standings, and this can be blamed on their poor attacking output, as they have scored the fewest number of goals this season with nine.
Next up for the Jets is a visit to the Jubilee Oval where they have struggled for results, picking up one win and a draw in eight matches since 2015.
This is the first meeting between both sides this term, with the most recent encounter ending in a surprise win for the visitors back in July 2020.
On that occasion, Anthony Caceres opened the scoring for Sydney in the 25th minute, but Nick Fitzgerald and Kosta Petratos scored in the second half to turn the game on its head and hand the Jets a 2-1 win.
Historically, Sydney have an upper hand over Newcastle Jets in the A-League, with 12 wins and two draws in the last 17 meetings.
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Team News
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Veteran midfielder Milos Ninkovic is ruled out for this tie through an ankle injury picked up after a cynical challenge from Western defender Tomislav Uskok.
Other than that, Corica has a fully-fit squad to select from on Saturday.
On the other hand, there are a few injury boosts in the Newcastle Jets camp heading into this fixture.
Jason Hoffman is in contention to return to the fold after missing the trip to Adelaide United last week through a groin injury.
Twenty-year-old forward Ramy Najjarine, who has missed the last two matches through an ankle injury, is expected to feature for the visitors after returning to full fitness.
However, Deans will still be without the services of Ben Kantarovski, who is out for a few weeks with a calf problem.
Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; King, Warland, Wilkinson, Grant; Brattan, Baumjohann, Ninkovic, Caceres; Barbarouses, Buhagiar
Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Duncan; O'Toole, Topor-Stanley, Jackson, Koutroumbis; Hoffman, Petratos, Thurgate; Najjarine, O'Donovan, Yuel
We say: Sydney FC 2-0 Newcastle Jets
Newcastle Jets have stumbled in recent weeks, while in contrast, the hosts are experiencing a slight resurgence. The visitors have also struggled in front of goal, and with Sydney currently the better of both sides, we fancy them to grab the win and also keep a clean sheet.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newcastle Jets win with a probability of 39.1%. A win for Sydney FC had a probability of 35.66% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newcastle Jets win was 0-1 with a probability of 8.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.57%) and 0-2 (6.28%). The likeliest Sydney FC win was 1-0 (8.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.89%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.1% likelihood.
