Perth Glory square off against Adelaide United on Wednesday with the chance to move into the mid-table positions in the A-League standings.
While Glory are full of confidence after three wins in a row, Adelaide ended a lengthy streak without success against Brisbane Roar at the weekend.
Match preview
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Glory have endured a frustrating campaign in the bottom half of the table under Richard Garcia, a consequence of just one win coming in 12 matches from March until the start of May.
However, Glory have come to life in recent weeks, recording three successive victories over teams who they will regard as rivals in the table.
Out of nowhere, Garcia's side now sit just three points adrift of sixth position, while they will not have given up hope of moving higher given that they possess a game in hand.
Bruno Fornaroli kickstarted Glory's resurgence with two goals in as many games, but the club's leading marksman was overshadowed by a stunning performance from Andy Keogh at the weekend.
Having failed to score in 18 appearances, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker netted four times during an incredible 67-minute period against Western Sydney Wanderers.
While Adelaide currently occupy fourth position, there will be mixed feelings after collecting just 10 points from their last nine fixtures.
Nevertheless, Carl Veart will prefer to focus on the present with their 1-0 success against Brisbane Roar getting them back on track.
Craig Goodwin netted the decisive goal in that fixture, scoring his sixth goal of the season after going five matches without finding the back of the net.
Adelaide also kept their third clean sheet in four outings, the only blot on their copybook being the 4-1 reverse at leaders Melbourne City.
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Team News
Given the manner of their success over Western Sydney, Garcia is unlikely to make any alterations to his Glory starting lineup.
Carlo Armiento and Joel Chianese will both come into contention if the former Australia international opts to bring fresh legs into the team.
As far as Adelaide are concerned, Juande could be brought back into central midfield as a replacement for Joe Caletti.
With just a three-day turnaround, it would not come as a surprise if youngster Louis D'Arrigo was also restored in the middle of the pitch.
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Geria, Aspropotamitis, Lachman, Ota; Ikonomidis, Bodnar, Timmins, Castro; Fornaroli, Keogh
Adelaide United possible starting lineup:
Delianov; Strain, Elsey, Jakobsen, Kitto; Halloran, D'Arrigo, Juande, Cavallo, Goodwin; Yengi
We say: Perth Glory 2-1 Adelaide United
With three wins in succession, Glory will have to cope with the expectations which come with positive results.
Nevertheless, we are backing the home side to continue on their upward trajectory, outlasting opponents who will still be unsure of themselves at both ends of the pitch.
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 Perth Glory win with a probability of 45.24%. A win for Adelaide United had a probability of 32.81% and a draw had a probability of 21.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Perth Glory win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (5.64%) and 3-1 (5.55%). The likeliest Adelaide United win was 1-2 (7.31%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.08%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Perth Glory in this match.
