Head Coach David Zdrilic is expecting his Glory side to face another tough challenge when they head east to tackle in-form Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Sunday (kick-off at 2pm WST, watch on Paramount +).
View his full pre-match media conference HERE
The men in purple secured an impressive point against one of the competition’s other in-form teams, Adelaide United, courtesy of a 2-2 draw at Coopers Stadium last time out.
And Zdrilic saw enough in that performance to suggest that Glory can more than hold their own against second-placed Victory.
“Like Adelaide, Victory are one of the form teams in the A-League,” he said.
“They’ve been very comfortable… and have started really well.
“They’re a confident side, so it’s a similar challenge to the one we anticipated against Adelaide away from home.
“Clearly they have weapons and are strong, but they’ve also lost a game to Wellington and given up chances, whether that be through transition or good build-up play.
“We’re expecting another tough game, but hopefully we can take the same steps that we did against Adelaide.
“We’ve spoken about being better defensively and obviously get more of the ball and create more chances and we were able to do that against Adelaide.
“I thought there were some really positive signs there, but we know we have to fight for everything we’re getting, not just the points.”
The Head Coach went on to state that he is hoping to maintain some consistency in his team selection again this weekend.
“We were able to play the same line up in the last two games for the first time, which was a big positive,” he said.
“We have some guys with niggles from the Adelaide game and we’re still assessing them as we we want to keep the same group together.
“I don’t envisage too many changes unless they’re enforced.”
Glory’s opponents come into the game off the back of a 3-1 win over near-neighbours Western United which took their points tally for the season to 13.
Greek import Nikos Vergos has scored twice this term, while recently-capped Socceroo Nishan Velupillay has also found the net on two occasions and Reno Piscopo has claimed two assists.
Victory’s former Glory contingent has been slightly reduced this year, but Bruno Fornaroli, Josh Rawlins, Jason Geria and Jack Duncan could all still feature against their former club.
Of the 54 overall A-League meetings between the two clubs, Victory have won 22 to Glory’s 20 and five of those three-pointers for the WA side have come at AAMI Park.
Last season’s corresponding fixture ended in a 2-1 win for the hosts, but that was the first time Glory had returned from an away clash with Victory empty-handed since 2021.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2024/25 Season Matchday 7
Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory
AAMI Park
Sunday 8 December 2024
Kick-off: 2pm WST (5pm Local)
Melbourne Victory squad: 2. Jason GERIA, 3. Adama TRAORE, 5. Brendan HAMILL, 6. Ryan TEAGUE, 7. Daniel ARZANI, 8. Zinedine MACHACH, 9. Nikolaos VERGOS, 10. Bruno FORNAROLI, 11. Clerismario SANTOS RODRIGUES, 14. Jordi VALADON, 16. Joshua INSERRA, 18. Fabian MONGE, 19. Jing REEC, 21. Roderick MIRANDA, 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 25. Jack DUNCAN, 26. Luka KOLIC, 27. Reno PISCOPO, 28. Kasey BOS, 30. Daniel GRASKOSKI
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 16.Joshua INSERRA (promoted), 26. Luka KOLIC (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 3.Anas HAMZAOUI, 5.Lachlan BARR, 6.Brandon O’NEILL, 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON, 9.David WILLIAMS, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Cameron COOK (gk), 14.Nathanael BLAIR, 15.Zach LISOLAJSKI, 16.Adam BUGARIJA, 17.Jarrod CARLUCCIO, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Trent OSTLER, 21.Abdul FAISAL, 22.Adam TAGGART (c), 23.Cristian CAICEDO, 24.Andriano LEBIB, 26.Khoa NGO, 33.Luis CANGA
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 21.Abdul FAISAL, 24.Andriano LEBIB
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 8.Mustafa AMINI (injured), 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC (injured)
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