Perth Glory and Western United return to action in the A-League when they go head to head at Macedonia Park on Saturday.
Separated by just one point at the wrong end of the league standings, both sides will head into the weekend in search of a pick-me-up as they look to get their season up and running.
Match preview
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After kicking off the campaign with successive defeats against Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory managed to stop the rot on November 23, when they picked up a 2-1 victory over Central Coast Mariners.
In that encounter, Ruben Zadkovich's side showed real determination as they fought back from behind to claim all three points at the Central Coast Stadium courtesy of goals in either half from Giordano Colli and Aaron McEneff.
However, the Glory were sent crashing down to earth a week later when they fell to a 2-1 defeat versus Adelaide United before suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Melbourne City in their last outing before the World Cup break.
Perth Glory's slow start to the season has been owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have failed to keep a clean sheet and conceded 10 goals already — only Western United and Wellington Phoenix have allowed more goals this season.
While they have a game in hand, Perth Glory are currently rooted to the bottom of the A-League standings with three points from five matches, but could potentially rise as high as eighth place with a win on Saturday.
However, they must find a way around their underwhelming home form as this weekend's hosts have managed just two wins while losing seven of their 12 matches on home turf since the turn of the year.
Off the back of a third-placed finish in the 2021-22 campaign, Western United find themselves struggling to grind out results this season as they sit 11th in the league table with just four points from a possible 18.
However, the Melbourne outfit will be backing themselves to quickly arrest their slump as they rallied from two goals down to secure an impressive 3-2 comeback win away to Wellington Phoenix in their lost recent outing.
Oskar Zawada and Bozhidar Kraev put the Phoenix in a commanding lead heading into the final half hour, but goals from Jacob Tratt, Aleksandar Prijovic and Alessandro Diamanti's 95th-minute strike helped the visitors secure their first win of the season.
Prior to that, Western United were on a six-game winless run across all competitions, picking up one draw and losing five matches, including a shock penalty-shootout defeat against lower-tier Sydney United in the last 16 of the FFA Cup back in August.
John Aloisi will hope that his side's performance against Wellington Phoenix can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form, even with the World Cup break potentially watering the momentum gained from that victory.
Western United will fancy their chances of picking up where they dropped off though, as they go up against a Perth Glory side who they have defeated in each of their last three meetings, including a 6-0 thrashing back in April.
Team News
Off the back of suffering a second consecutive defeat, Zadkovich could ring several chances to his starting side, with Johnny Koutroumbis and Aaron McEneff pushing for a return to the XI.
The Glory will have to make do without the absence of Brad Jones, who continues his long road to full fitness after picking up a severe injury back in March.
As for Western United, Tomoki Imai has missed the last five matches after coming off injured against Melbourne City on October 7 and the defender will play no part in this weekend's matchup.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Tongo Doumbia and experienced midfielder Steven Lustica, who missed the trip to Wellington Phoenix last time out after picking up a game-ending injury against Adelaide United on November 6.
The Melbourne outfit will also have to cope without the services of 37-year-old defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who is set to serve the last of his three-game suspension for picking up a straight red against Central Coast Mariners on October 29.
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Forde, Lachman, Beevers, Clisby; Duncan, Bodnar; Williams, Colli, Khelifi; Azubel
Western United possible starting lineup:
Young; Risdon, Tratt, Lacroix, Garuccio; Wales, Bozinovski, Kilkenny, Pain; Troisi, Wenzel-Halls
We say: Perth Glory 1-3 Western United
Fresh off the back of picking up their first win of the season, Western United will head into the weekend with renewed belief as they look to move into the top half of the table. While they have struggled in defence, they have been potent at the opposite end of the pitch and we predict that they will outscore the hosts and extend their dominance in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
