Preview: Macarthur vs. Wellington Phoenix - prediction, team news, lineups

Macarthur take on Wellington Phoenix at the Campbelltown Stadium in Saturday's Australian A-League match with both sides having suffered defeats in their previous fixtures.

The home side will be desperate for a first home victory, while Wellington will be looking to bounce back from their season-opening defeat to champions Sydney FC.

Match preview

A-League newcomers Macarthur got their top-flight lives off to a dream start with victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in their curtain-raiser, but they were brought crashing back down to earth by early table-toppers Central Coast Mariners last time out.

They were outfought in a match where goals in either half secured all three points for the pace-setters, dampening the occasion of Macarthur's first ever A-League home game.

The Bulls have another chance to get a first home win on the board in this match, though, and as the only A-League fixture still going ahead in gameweek three due to sweeping postponements elsewhere, victory would be enough to take the fledgling club joint-top of the table once again.

They are capable of doing exactly that, as their opening win showed, having accumulated the most shots after the first round of matches.

Should they bring the same attitude into this fixture, they are more than capable of walking away with a victory. In contrast, the away side endured a disappointing end to last season with just two points from their final five games and, much to their dismay, they picked up where they left off in their opener last weekend.

A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sydney FC occurred as a second-half winner took the wind out of Wellington's sails after having walked in level at half-time.

However, facing last season's champions in their opening game was always going to be a tough task and such a narrow defeat will not dishearten manager Ufuk Talay too much.

With both sides having the highest possession statistics this season, this promises to be an entertaining game.

Macarthur Australian A-League form: WL

Wellington Phoenix Australian A-League form: L

Team News

The home side have no injury issues to deal with and a few new faces could line up.

Both Benat Etxebarria and Mark Milligan could start in midfield together in what could be a bold lineup.

The away side only have one concern as they will be without Reno Piscopo, who has a calf injury.

Tomer Hemed had a minor injury before the last game, but he should be available for this fixture.

Macarthur possible starting lineup: Federici; Franjic, Susnjar, Jovanovic, Meredith; Milligan, Benat, Puyo; Susaeta, Derbyshire, Oar

Wellington Phoenix possible starting lineup: Marinovic; McGarry, Hudson-Wihongi, DeVere, McGing; Davila, Devlin, Rufer, Muratovic; Ball, Sotirio

We say: Macarthur 1-1 Wellington Phoenix

With the season barely underway, both sides are still finding their feet. It is for this reason that we expect this to be an extremely close fixture as both sides are capable of getting something. Therefore, a draw seems to be the most likely outcome.