Perth Glory will aim to make it two wins from two when they travel to the GMHBA Stadium to take on Western United on Saturday.
Western United are currently winless so far, with one draw and one defeat in their opening two games, while the visitors are coming off a midweek 5-3 thumping of Adelaide United.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a prolonged delay to the start of their league campaign, Perth Glory finally opened their season with a blast, as they put five past Adelaide United to grab an emphatic 5-3 victory on Wednesday.
The Glory showed no signs of rustiness, as they secured their first win in six matches, after a disappointing AFC Champions League run, where they finished last in Group F with four losses in five outings.
Australian-born striker Nick D'Agostino scored in each half of the game, while Neil Kilkenny, Andy Keogh and substitute Carlo Armiento also got on the scoresheet in what was a superb display of attacking dominance.
It was also a dream start to life in the Australian league for head coach Richard Garcia, who was appointed in the summer, as he watched his side deliver a five-star performance on his league debut.
The former Socceroo took over from Anthony Popovic, who moved to Greek-based club Xanthi, following a two-year reign at the HBF Park.
The hosts, on the other hand, will be aiming to get up and running when they return to Geelong on Saturday, after stumbling into the new season.
A goalless draw with Adelaide United in their season opener, and a 2-1 defeat to Melbourne City last time out, means Mark Rudan's men sit 10th in the A-League table with just one point.
Western United and Perth Glory have only ever met twice, with the hosts having a slight advantage, after securing one win and a draw in the two meetings last season.
Western United Australian A-League form: DL
Perth Glory Australian A-League form: W
Team News
© Reuters
Western United are unlikely to make changes their starting XI, meaning that new signing Iker Guarrotxena will once again join Besart Berisha and Alessandro Diamanti in attack.
Defender Joshua Risdon has not featured since the 2-0 loss to Melbourne City in August due to a tibia injury, and he is the only guaranteed absentee for this fixture.
Perth Glory's duo of Christopher Oikonomidis and defender Osama Malik are ruled out indefinitely, after sustaining long-term injuries last year.
Club captain Diego Castro remains a doubt and will be assessed, having missed the trip to Melbourne City with a minor leg injury.
Western United possible starting lineup:
Kurto; Calver, Uskok, Vujica; Imai, Lustica, Sanchez, Pain; Diamanti, Guarrotxena, Berisha
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Ingham, Lachman, Aspropotamitis, Rawlins; Stynes, Timmins, Kilkenny, D'Agostino; Fornaroli, Keogh
We say: Western United 1-2 Perth Glory
After contrasting starts to the new campaign, this fixture will be a close one, however, Perth Glory are the better team currently, and they should be able to build on their excellent midweek display and steal all three points on Saturday, bringing an end to their winless run against the hosts.
Top betting tip
Joshua Ojele
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 40.64%. A win for Western United had a probability of 35.13% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Perth Glory win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.75%) and 0-2 (6.07%). The likeliest Western United win was 2-1 (8.04%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.16%). The actual scoreline of 5-4 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood.
