Adelaide United will be looking to record a sixth straight victory on Sunday when they welcome Sydney FC to the Hindmarsh Stadium.
A strong run of form has seen the Reds rise up to third in the Australian A-League table, while Sydney FC now sit sixth after an upturn in form of their own.
Match preview
© Reuters
Adelaide United come into this game on the back of a dominant 4-1 win away at Newcastle Jets last Sunday.
Kusini Yengi, Stefan Mauk, Ben Halloran and Craig Goodwin all scored to put the game out of sight in the first half, before Apostolos Stamatelopoulos netted a second-half consolation goal for the hosts.
Before that, Carl Veart's men recorded a 3-1 win away at basement side Melbourne Victory, as Mauk netted a brace alongside another Yengi goal to seal all three points.
The Reds' winning run now stands at five games, having also recorded victories against Central Coast Mariners, Western Sydney Wanderers and another win over Newcastle Jets.
In those five games, Veart's side have netted an impressive tally of 15 goals, while shipping only seven at the other end of the pitch.
As a result, they now sit in a strong position in the Australian top flight, sitting level on points with second-placed Melbourne City and three points behind Central Coast Mariners, with a game in hand on the league leaders.
That means that Veart will have his sights set on a sixth straight league win on Sunday, as his side look to close that distance between themselves and a faltering Central Coast Mariners outfit.
However, they face arguably the toughest test of their winning run so far, as Sydney FC come into this game without a defeat in their last four matches.
Steve Corica's side drew 1-1 away at Perth Glory last time out, as Bobo equalised for Sydney after Bruno Fornaroli had put the Glory ahead on the stroke of half time.
That followed back-to-back wins for the defending A-League champions, as they beat Western United 2-0 and narrowly defeated Newcastle Jets 2-1 thanks to a late Alex Wilkinson winner.
Despite a season of mixed success, Corica's men do boast the league's best defensive record, with no other side in the A-League conceding as few as the 12 goals that they have shipped in 12 games.
Instead, their problems come in attack, with only the league's bottom two sides scoring fewer than the 16 goals that the Sky Blues have netted so far this season.
Corica will feel that if his side can find a way to improve that attacking record while keeping their defensive foundations, they should be able to continue their quick rise up the table.
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Adelaide United remain without several players through injury, as midfielders Ryan Kitto and Nathan Konstandopoulos both continue spells on the sidelines.
However, the midfield has not struggled too much in their absence, with Stefan Mauk hitting a fine run of goalscoring form for a midfielder, netting four goals in his last four games.
Meanwhile, they will also be missing goalkeeper James Delianov, who has missed the last two games after previously featuring in goal in the first 10 games of the season.
In his absence, Joe Gauci has featured in net for the Reds, conceding two goals and picking up two victories in those matches.
Forward Kusini Yengi could be in line for another start on Sunday, having recorded two goals and two assists in his last two appearances, the first of which being a cameo off the bench.
Sydney FC also have several injury issues to deal with, as forward Trent Buhagiar remains out of contention alongside midfielder Christopher Zuvela.
Corica will also be without a key component of his solid back four, as right-back Rhyan Grant will serve a suspension after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the recent draw with Perth Glory.
Bobo will be hoping to keep hold of his starting spot in this game, after he netted the equaliser last time out upon his return to the starting side.
Adelaide United possible starting lineup:
Gauci; Strain, Elsey, Jakobsen, Lopez; Mauk, D'Arrigo, Cavallo; Halloran, Yengi, Goodwin
Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; Warland, McGowan, Wilkinson, King; Caceres, Brattan, Retre, Ninkovic; Bobo, Ivanovic
We say: Adelaide United 2-1 Sydney FC
The hosts look full of confidence right now, and we expect their strong run of form to continue with a sixth straight victory on Sunday.
The visitors definitely pose a real challenge with their strong back line, but the Adelaide attack, which has netted 15 goals in the last five games, should have more than enough to break through and secure another win to put pressure on the sides above them.
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 Sydney FC win with a probability of 42.58%. A win for Adelaide United had a probability of 33.65% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sydney FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.52%) and 0-2 (6.19%). The likeliest Adelaide United win was 2-1 (7.8%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.82%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood.
