Two sides struggling for form at the bottom end of the Australian A-League table will square off on Friday, as Newcastle Jets entertain MacArthur.
Both in the midst of winless runs, the teams are two of the four level on 26 points, with the visitors 11th and their hosts currently ninth thanks to a superior goal difference.
Match preview
After moving onto 24 points from 17 A-League outings with back-to-back victories over Melbourne Victory and Macarthur in mid-February, with Trent Buhagiar netting the only goal of the game in a 1-0 triumph away at Friday's opponents, Newcastle Jets now find themselves in a tough run of form at the back end of the campaign.
In their six matches since that triumph over Macarthur, Arthur Papas's side have failed to put another victory on the board while only adding two more points to their tally, firstly suffering three defeats on the bounce against Western United, Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United, before looking set to beat Perth Glory 2-1 and end their losing run, only to be held to a draw as Ryan Williams levelled the scores for their visitors in the 97th minute.
The Jets were again the victims of a late goal in the following encounter away at league leaders Melbourne City, as Max Caputo denied them what would have been an eye-catching 1-0 triumph with an equaliser two minutes into injury time.
Hoping to bounce back from those consecutive late disappointments and end their five-game wait for another three-point haul in the A-League, Papas's side most recently travelled to take on Brisbane Roar, who sat at the foot of the table prior to the contest, but they came away empty-handed following a disappointing 3-0 defeat, in which Henry Hore, Jay O'Shea and Stefan Scepovic helped themselves to goals in a rampant home display.
That latest loss saw the Jets continue their fall down the table and drop below Brisbane Roar into ninth spot, and with 10th-placed Western United and Friday's opponents both only trailing on goal difference while new basement side Melbourne Victory are only a point worse off, their position could quickly worsen even further in the final weeks of the campaign if they fail to correct their form.
They meet a Macarthur side who will hope to leapfrog their hosts and end their own wait for a victory.
Following their 1-0 defeat to Friday's opponents and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers, Mile Sterjovski's side bounced back by beating Brisbane Roar 3-2, but they have been unable to add another notch to their wins column in four attempts since.
The Bulls were firstly on the wrong end of a 4-1 beating at the hands of Central Coast Mariners, before drawing 1-1 at home to Melbourne City and falling to a 2-1 defeat away at Perth Glory, despite going ahead through Lachlan Rose, as Adam Taggart and Mark Beevers found the net for their hosts in the 69th and 74th minutes respectively to turn the game on its head.
They would then host local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers most recently last weekend, and after Rose drew the game level at a goal apiece in the second half, Macarthur looked to have snatched all three points in injury time as Al Hassan Toure put them in the lead, only for Brandon Borrello to net his second of the game in the 95th minute to force a share of the spoils.
Now with a feeling of disappointment following that late leveller in the derby, Sterjovski's men now find themselves in an underwhelming position in 11th spot in the A-League with three games left to play, although with three teams including Friday's opponents only ahead on goal difference, they will know that they can quickly climb back towards mid-table with a three-point haul which would see them move clear of the Jets.
Team News
Newcastle Jets forward Beka Mikeltadze, who leads their scoring charts with six goals in 20 A-League appearances so far this season, missed their meeting with Brisbane Roar last weekend due to a shoulder injury, although he is likely to be fit to make a return on Friday and could come back into the front line from the outset.
Trent Buhagiar is another key man in attack and should keep his place, while Reno Piscopo and Kosta Grozos could be under more pressure if Papas looks to make changes to inspire an upturn in form.
The midfield pairing of Angus Thurgate and Brandon O'Neill should remain unchanged, however, while Carl Jenkinson and Matthew Jurman will continue to partner up in the middle of the defence.
In the continued absence of forward Bachana Arabuli, Macarthur's attack will again be heavily reliant on Lachlan Rose, who has found the net in back-to-back games after recently making a return from his own injury layoff.
He could be partnered up front by Al Hassan Toure, who scored off the bench last time out, taking his tally to three for the campaign alongside five assists in the A-League, while experienced winger Craig Noone is also hoping to come back in from the outset.
With Ulises Davila also sidelined alongside winger Daniel Arzani, Kearyn Baccus and Daniel De Silva will again feature in the engine room, while key centre-back Tomislav Uskok also missed the Western Sydney Wanderers game, meaning Oliver Jones may again have to deputise alongside Jonathan Aspropotamitis on Friday.
Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Weier; Aquilina, Jenkinson, Jurman, Ingham; Thurgate, O'Neill; Saito, Buhagiar, Mikeltadze; Sotirio
Macarthur possible starting lineup:
Kurto; McGing, Aspropotamitis, Jones, Vujica; Millar, Baccus, De Silva, Noone; Toure, Rose
We say: Newcastle Jets 1-2 Macarthur
Both sides are struggling for form and in the midst of winless runs, but Macarthur's display against Western Sydney Wanderers was encouraging, and we back them to come out on top this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
