Glory Head Coach Alen Stajcic is backing his charges to rise to the challenge of downing high-flying Western Sydney Wanderers at CommBank Stadium on Saturday (kick-off at 4:45pm WST).
The men in purple remained in Sydney after being edged out 4-3 by Wellington Phoenix in Round 12, enabling them to enjoy more preparation time on the training ground.
And the Head Coach believes his side are ready to give a good account of themselves against the red-and-blacks.
“Football’s always tough and it doesn’t matter what situation you’re in, there are always things that come along that test you out,” he said.
“We’ve got some unique circumstances at the moment, but rest assured that everyone’s trying their hardest to find solutions to the problems.
“You have to rebound regardless of the result.
“Win, lose, or draw, we go through the same processes reviewing the things we did well and the things we didn’t do so well and we’re back to that drawing board again this week.”
Wanderers currently occupy third spot in the table having conceded the fewest goals in the competition this term (12), but Stajcic is taking heart from aspects of his side’s performance when the two teams met at the same venue back in November.
“They’re obviously doing well and are towards the top of the table,” he said, “and they’re the only team that we haven’t scored against this year, so it’s a big challenge for us to try and get over the top of them.
“I thought the first time we played them it was an extremely close game and we were unlucky not to be in the lead at half-time.
“So if we play well, we’ll be well in the hunt and it’ll be a good contest.”
Glory’s hopes of securing a first win on the road this term have been bolstered by the return from injury of Stefan Colakovski and Darryl Lachman and the availability of Bruce Kamau who missed the Wellington game through suspension.
Wanderers, meanwhile, remain without the services of key duo Lawrence Thomas and Brandon Borrello who are unavailable due to international duty and injury respectively.
Marko Rudan’s men come into the Glory clash having won two and lost two of their last four games, with both of those victories coming at CommBank Stadium.
Swedish recruit Marcus Antonsson has provided their major attacking threat thus far this year, scoring five times, while Nicolas Milanovic has bagged two along with three assists.
The 32 previous meetings between the two sides have yielded an even split of 12 wins apiece, with the most recent of those Glory victories coming in August 2020.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2023/24 Season Round 13
Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory
CommBank Stadium
Saturday 20 January 2024
Kick-off: 4:45pm WST (7:45pm Local)
Western Sydney Wanderers squad:Â 1.Daniel MARGUSH, 2.Gabriel CLEUR, 6.Marcelo, 7. Dylan PIERIAS, 9. Marcus ANTONSSON, 10. Milos NINKOVIC, 11. Valentino YUEL, 13. Tate RUSELL, 14. Nicolas MILANOVIC, 16. Tom BEADLING, 17. Lachlan BROOK, 19. Jack CLISBY, 21. Jorrit HENDRIX, 25. Josh BRILLANTE, 29. Dylan SCICLUNA, 30.Taiga HARPER, 31. Aidan SIMMONS, 33. Alex BONETIG, 36. Oscar PRIESTMAN, 37. Alex BADOLATO, 39. Marcus YOUNIS
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 20. Lawrence THOMAS (Socceroos – international duty), 26. Brandon BORRELLO (injured – 3 months)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 2.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 3.Jacob MUIR, 4.Luke BODNAR, 7.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 8.Mustafa AMINI, 9.David WILLIAMS, 10.Salim KHELIFI, 12.Luke IVANOVIC, 13.Cameron COOK (gk), 14.Riley WARLAND, 15.Aleksandar SUSNJAR, 19.Trent OSTLER, 20.Giordano COLLI, 22.Adam TAGGART (co-c), 23.Daniel BENNIE, 27.Jayden GORMAN, 28.Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 77.Bruce KAMAU
Ins: 7.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 77.Bruce KAMAU
Outs: 17.Jarrod CARLUCCIO
Unavailable:Â 5.Mark BEEVERS (co-c) (injured), 17.Jarrod CARLUCCIO (unavailable to play against parent club due to terms of loan agreement), 21.Antonis MARTIS (injured)
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