Glory Head Coach David Zdrilic is looking forward to seeing his charges test themselves against reigning A-League Champions Melbourne City when the two sides go toe-to-toe in Saturday’s Round Two clash at AAMI Park (kick-off at 2pm WST).
Watch his full pre-match media conference on our official club YouTube channel HERE.
Midfielder Lachie Wales also spoke at the media conference – watch his interview HERE.
The men in purple will head east off the back of a hard-fought home draw with Wellington Phoenix in which they raced out to a two-goal lead before the visitors fought back to secure a share of the spoils.
And Zdrilic took plenty of heart from aspects of that Round One performance.
“Preparations [for the City game] have gone well and a lot of good work has been done this week,” he said.
“We thought the start against Wellington was very positive, so we want to build on that.
“We know it’s a different proposition playing against Melbourne City who were Champions last year and are a very strong team, but we’re looking forward to it.
“City are another high-pressing team [like Wellington], but they’re different in the way they play [overall] and are very good on the ball.
“We want to play through that pressure and continue to create the chances we did against Wellington away from home.”
The Head Coach went on to offer up a further assessment of Aurelio Vidmar’s side who finished second last season before downing arch-rivals Melbourne Victory in the Grand Final.
“They’re pretty much the same as last year,” he said.
“They have varied their pressing structure a little bit, so they’ve adapted a bit, but they’re still a strong pressing team with a very good structure and they’re good with the ball.
“They’re a very physical team and they’ve shown that in all their pre-season games and against [Western Sydney] Wanderers in Round One.”
Zdrilic also provided an update on Glory’s walking wounded, starting with goalkeepers Mark Birighitti and Cameron Cook, both of whom suffered knee injuries ahead of Round One.
“It’s a unique one, but it’s part of football and it’s something we’ve just got to move on from,” he said.
“We’re glad that we got [Matt] Sutton in and we’re just looking forward from here.
“It’s knee injuries for both of them and it’s looking around six to eight weeks for Cam.”
The Head Coach then moved on to discuss midfield trio Luke Amos, Callum Timmins and Nicholas Pennington, along with new international recruit, Tom Lawrence.
“It’s just unfortunate that he [Amos] had some niggling injuries in the pre-season and then just before the first game,” he said.
“But he was looking sharp in training like he was last year and now he’s fighting to get back to full fitness and he should be back in a couple of weeks.
“Penno just picked up something minor in the game last week, just some soreness and he’ll be out this week, but Cal Timmins… has had another full week of training and he’s looking good.
“Tom looks comfortable and fit and you can see the quality he’s got in training.
“He’s had a full week of training with us… and now it’s up to us to see when we feel he’s ready to come in, firstly off the bench and how many minutes to give him.
“It’s really good to have him here and we can’t wait to get him into the squad.
“I think it’ll be another week.”
In other team news, left-sided defenders Sam Sutton (knee) and Zach Lisolajski (hamstring) both remain sidelined and winger Joel Anasmo has also been ruled out by an Achilles issue.
Glory will be out to secure maximum points against City at AAMI Park for the first time since January 2021 which would take their tally of victories to 19 in what is the 46th overall meeting between the two sides.
In terms of potential Glory milestones this weekend, co-captain Adam Taggart is three goals away from replacing Andy Keogh as the club’s all-time record A-League scorer.
As for Saturday’s hosts, they began their 2025/26 campaign by securing a 1-1 draw away at Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend, Max Caputo bagging their goal two minutes after Kosta Barbarouses had put the red-and-blacks in front.
City’s highest-profile off-season recruits included experienced Japanese forward Takeshi Kanamori and Kosovo international winger Elbasan Rashani, while Socceroos duo Aziz Behich and Matthew Leckie remain key members of their squad.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2025/26 Season Round 2
Melbourne City v Perth Glory
AAMI Park
Saturday 25 October 2025
Kick-off: 2pm WST (5pm Local Time)
Melbourne City squad: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 4. Liam BONETIG, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 17. Max CAPUTO, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 27. Kai TREWIN, 30. Andreas KUEN, 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM (GK), 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 38. Beckham BAKER, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 20. Ben MAZZEO, 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 44. Besian KUTLESHI (all promoted)
Outs: 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN (hamstring), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON (concussion)
Unavailable: 15. Andrew NABBOUT (ACL), 21. Alessandro LOPANE (ankle), 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN (hamstring), 35. Medin MEMETI (hamstring), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON (concussion), 40. James NIEUWENHUIZEN (ACL), 41. Lawrence WONG (MCL)
Perth Glory squad: 4.Scott WOOTTON, 6.Brandon O’NEILL, 8.Callum TIMMINS, 9.Jaiden KUCHARSKI, 11.Lachlan WALES, 14.Nathanael BLAIR, 16.Gabriel POPOVIC, 17.Arion SULEMANI, 18.Rhys BOZINOVSKI, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Trent OSTLER, 21.Adam BUGARIJA, 22.Adam TAGGART, 25.Sebastian DESPOTOVSKI, 26.Khoa NGO, 27.Will FRENEY, 28.Kaylan MAJEKODUNMI, 29.Matt SUTTON (gk), 40.Ryan WARNER (gk), 45.Brian KALTAK
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 8.Callum TIMMINS, 17.Arion SULEMANI, 21.Adam BUGARIJA, 26.Khoa NGO
Outs: 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON, 31.Joel ANASMO
Unavailable: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (injured), 3.Sam SUTTON (injured), 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON (injured), 10.Luke AMOS (injured), 13.Cameron COOK (injured), 15.Zach LISOLAJSKI (injured), 31.Joel ANASMO (injured)
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ALM Match Preview: Glory excited to test themselves against Champions City
