Glory Women are relishing the prospect of going toe-to-toe with old foes Canberra United in Saturday’s Ninja A-League Round 4 clash at HBF Park (kick-off at 4pm, followed by Glory Men v Newcastle Jets at 6:45pm – tickets available HERE).
Stephen Peters’ side could climb to the top of the table should they secure a third win of the season and results elsewhere go their way over the weekend.
Click HERE to watch his full pre-match media conference.
But the Head Coach warned that although the visitors have lost both of their opening two games, to Central Coast and Western Sydney respectively, they will still provide a stern challenge.
“There’s a pretty heated rivalry between the two teams,” he said, “so I don’t think it’s going to be too hard to get the players up for this game.
“They’re obviously not going to be happy with not having got any points in those first two games, so we have to be ready for what they’re going to throw at us.
“Managing the bye in the first round can be difficult… so I think we can look past that first result.
“Central Coast just had a really good day, so you can’t read too much into that and if you look at the second half last week [against Western Sydney Wanderers], Canberra were much more like their old selves.
“We’ll prepare for the full version of Canberra and won’t be complacent.
“At their best, Canberra are a team that likes to go forward.
“They’re a very physical team and a very loud team, so we have to be ready for all of that.
“Canberra are a team that we respect.
“They’re a good side who have done very well in the last two seasons and they have the majority of the same team there still.
“So we need to be ready.”
Glory will head into Saturday’s Round 4 match-up off the back of an eye-catching 2-0 home victory over Wellington Phoenix, but Peters believes they will need to improve again to keep their impressive run of form going.
“Canberra are a different proposition, so we’re moving right along and getting ourselves ready for that,” he said.
“There was a real surprise element to the Wellington contest and obviously people would have watched that and will now know the things we’re looking to do.
“So the key for us is to be good at those things, keep developing our game and take it to the next level.”
In terms of early squad news, meanwhile, Peters confirmed that midfielder Charli Wainwright is set to return from injury, but that Ella Abdul Massih is a doubt after picking up an ankle niggle against Wellington.
Emma Tovar is expected to start once again having taken out the ALW Goal of the Week for her fine strike against Wellington and she will be joined by Julia Sardo who has been equally impressive so far this season, winning 92.9% of her 15 tackles, having 274 touches of the ball and making 15 clearances.
As for Canberra, they added several new faces to their squad during the off-season, including Madison Ayson and Sarah Morgan who returned to the club from Sydney FC and Adelaide United respectively and former Glory striker Kelli Brown.
Legendary A-League and Matildas striker Michelle Heyman continues to lead the line for the side from the capital, while ex-Glory duo Sally James and Liz Anton are also mainstays of the side, as are the versatile Beth Gordon and Sofia Christopherson.
Historically, Glory have traditionally struggled to get the better of Canberra, winning just five of the 34 previous meetings between the two sides.
The eight most recent of those meetings, however, have produced a more even return of three wins for Glory, three for United and two draws.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2026/27 Season Round 4
Perth Glory v Canberra United
HBF Park
Saturday 7 November 2026
Kick-off: 4pm
#ONEGlory
ALW Match Preview: Peters and co ready to renew “heated rivalry” with Canberra
