Macarthur will look to continue their strong run of form and overtake Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A-League table on Thursday, when they welcome the fifth-placed outfit to the Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
A six-game unbeaten run has seen the Bulls rise to sixth spot, now only trailing Thursday's opponents, who previously sat at the summit of the table, on goal difference.
Match preview
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Macarthur earned a commendable point last time out, as they drew 1-1 away against a Perth Glory side who have also moved up the league thanks to a strong run of form.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 13th minute through a Diego Castro penalty, but Matt Derbyshire netted the equaliser on the half-hour mark to guide his side to a point.
That followed consecutive wins over Melbourne Victory in the Australian top flight, firstly picking up a narrow 2-1 win away from home.
Ante Milicic's men then defeated the basement side 3-1 st the Campbelltown Sports Stadium, as Derbyshire netted a brace alongside a James Meredith goal.
The Bulls' upturn in form has seen them move up to sixth spot in the A-League, while they now sit just two points behind third-placed Adelaide United.
As a result, Milicic's side will be desperate to continue their strong run as they could quickly break into the top three if it is sustained.
Their opponents have seen the opposite trajectory this season, having dropped to fifth place after previously sitting at the top of the league.
The Mariners suffered a narrow defeat last time out, as a Craig Noone goal on the hour mark fired league leaders Melbourne City to a narrow 1-0 home win.
That meant that Alen Stajcic's side have now won just two of their last 12 league games, seeing them fall well behind the top two as a result.
Their poor recent run followed a particularly impressive start to the season, as Thursday's visitors picked up an eye-catching tally of 24 points from their opening 11 games to move to the summit of the Australian top flight.
The Mariners will now look to reverse their fortunes and climb back up the table, as they would move back up to third place with a win on Thursday.
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Team News
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Macarthur should remain without centre-back Aleksandar Jovanovic, who has missed the last six league games through injury.
He will be joined on the sidelines by winger Tommy Oar, who has been absent from the squad for the last five games.
In the absence of Jovanovic, Mark Milligan and Aleksandar Susnjar should continue their solid partnership at the heart of the back four.
At the other end of the pitch, Matt Derbyshire will continue to lead the line, having netted three goals in his last two games to take his tally to 14 goals in 23 league appearances this season.
Central Coast Mariners should come into Thursday's game with a clean bill of health, although Stajcic may look to alter his side after a poor run of form.
Young forward Alou Kuol could be brought into the side given their disappointing goalscoring form, with the 19-year-old having netted seven goals this season despite limited starting opportunities.
Ruon Tongyik and Kye Rowles should continue their partnership at the back, having shipped just one goal in the last three matches.
Macarthur possible starting lineup:
Federici; Rose, Milligan, Susnjar, Meredith; Puyo, Genreau; Susaeta, M'Mombwa, Najjar; Derbyshire
Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:
Birighitti; Nigro, Tongyik, Rowles, Clisby; Nisbet, Stensness, Bozanic, De Silva; Simon, Kuol
We say: Macarthur 2-0 Central Coast Mariners
The Bulls come into this game with plenty of momentum, and we see them continuing their strong run to leapfrog a struggling Mariners outfit on Thursday.
The visitors have failed to look threatening going forward recently, while their solid defence could be broken down by the likes of Matt Derbyshire, who comes into the clash in a strong patch of form.
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 Macarthur win with a probability of 38.81%. A win for Central Coast Mariners had a probability of 37.91% and a draw had a probability of 23.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Macarthur win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.38%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (6.4%) and 2-0 (5.21%). The likeliest Central Coast Mariners win was 1-2 (8.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.28%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood.
