Perth Glory play host to Western United with the opportunity to move back into contention for a top-half position in the A-League standings.
While the home side ended a lengthy winless streak last time out, eighth-placed Western United have posted two defeats in succession.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a run of just one win from 12 matches, Perth Glory's season was at risk of petering out with a battle for 10th position.
However, Sunday's 2-1 triumph over rivals Melbourne Victory has breathed new life into their campaign, Glory now within five points of ninth with two matches in hand.
While Richard Garcia and his players still have much work ahead, they know that another win on Wednesday will make targeting the top six a realistic goal.
Glory were aided by a second-half dismissal for Victory in the last contest, but they still showed an edge in the final third which has not always been present this season.
Top goalscorer Bruno Fornaroli netted four minutes after his side were gifted a man advantage, finally ending his seven-match wait for his ninth strike of the campaign.
In sharp contrast, Western United had been on a high before suffering two defeats in a row, the latest coming at Western Sydney Wanderers by a 5-0 scoreline.
Goals were conceded at regular intervals against one of their rivals, and Mark Rudan now has the tough task of trying to keep the team in contention for the top two.
Although United still remain just four points adrift of that target, their goal difference has taken a battering, leaving them requiring wins on the board to restore some parity with the clubs above them.
Leading marksman Besart Berisha has not netted since April 11, but Lachlan Wales has four goals from his last eight appearances.
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
Team News
Despite victory in the last match, Garcia will consider making changes to his Glory XI due to the three-day turnaround.
Carlo Armiento is an alternative to Joel Chianese, while Brandon Wilson and Dane Ingham will feel that they are in contention for a start.
Although United have had an extra day of recovery, Rudan will almost certainly ring the changes to his starting lineup.
Dylan Pierias should feature somewhere on the right flank, with Sebastian Pasquali an option if Rudan switches to a midfield three.
Veteran playmaker Alessandro Diamanti will expect to be recalled in the final third.
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Lachman, Aspropotamitis, Ota; Armiento, Bodnar, Timmins, Ikonomidis; Bramwell, Castro, Fornaroli
Western United possible starting lineup:
Scott; Imai, Durante, Uskok; Pierias, Duzel, Sanchez, Vujica; Wales, Berisha, Diamanti
We say: Perth Glory 1-1 Western United
Having moved clear of the bottom two, Glory will only be looking ahead as they bid to gatecrash the top six.
While we make the home side the marginal favourites, we are backing Western United to get back on track with an hard-earned share of the spoils.
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 48.77%. A win for Western United had a probability of 26.9% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Perth Glory win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.51%) and 2-0 (8.15%). The likeliest Western United win was 0-1 (6.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.48%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 4.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Perth Glory would win this match.
