Third meets second as Central Coast Mariners take on fellow Premier Plate candidates Western Sydney Wanderers at the Central Coast Stadium in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Nick Montgomery's side sit five points behind leaders Melbourne City, while WSW are firmly on the heels of their hosts, occupying third position in the A-League standings.
Match preview
Central Coast Mariners begin the latest round of matches in the semi-final playoff places having registered the second-most victories in the current campaign.
Montgomery's side have also netted the highest number of goals in the top flight of Australian football after finding the back of the net 27 times - three clear of league leaders Melbourne City.
Victorious in a hat-trick of matches before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat against Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium on Sunday, The Yellow & Navy have made the Central Coast Stadium a fortress across the 2022-23 A-League campaign, amassing an uncontested 15 points from a possible 24 on offer.
Unbeaten in their last four home league matches dating back to the middle of December, Central Coast Mariners were victorious on January 13 over Macarthur after goals within the opening 27 minutes of the game courtesy of Marco Tulio and top scorer Jason Cummings.
Registering two victories from their last three encounters, which included a 3-0 away win in November, Montgomery's side will head into this weekend's encounter confident of emerging with another three-point haul.
Winless in their last five league away matches, Western Sydney Wanderers face the uphill task of registering their first success since December 10 in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Despite their recent woeful run of form across their 2022-23 A-League expeditions, Marko Rudan's troops still possess the third-best away record in the division.
Sitting two points behind Central Coast Mariners in the standings, WSW missed the opportunity to leapfrog Saturday's hosts following their draw with Newcastle Jets at the Newcastle International Sports Centre on January 22.
However, before their most recent stalemate, the New South Wales outfit registered a notable share of the spoils on January 15 with current league leaders Melbourne City.
Team News
Central Coast Mariners manager Nick Montgomery could contemplate changing his starting lineup following the defeat against Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.
After coming off the substitutes' bench on Sunday, Christian Theoharous could be restored to the Mariners' starting team sheet.
If Montgomery gives the aforementioned Theoharous the green light to begin the match, the striker will lead the line with Jason Cummings.
Western Sydney Wanderers boss Marko Rudan could also change his side for the footballing expedition to the Central Coast Stadium.
Those changes could come in the backline, with Jason Hoffman potentially coming back into the WSW starting XI after Marcelo and Adama Traore were substituted in the draw with Newcastle Jets.
Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:
Vukovic; Roux, Triantis, Kaltak, Farrell; Nkololo, Nisbet, Steele, Kuol; Theoharous, Cummings
Western Sydney Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Thomas; Tongyik, Mrcela, Hoffman, Traore; Nieuwenhof, Bozanic, Amalfitano, Najjarine; Borrello, Krpic
We say: Central Coast Mariners 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
After only registering one victory in their last five matches, we forecast Western Sydney Wanderers will have to wait another week to attempt to improve that record, with Central Coast Mariners coming out on top on Saturday morning.
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