Andreu and Joel Chianese are both in contention for squad places as Glory look to get back to winning ways at the expense of Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
The Spaniard has been sidelined by a calf injury since Glory last met Phoenix in Round 6, while former Sydney FC man Chianese has missed the entire Hyundai A-League campaign thus far after cracking his collar bone in training.
And given the club’s wretched run of luck with injuries in recent weeks, Head Coach Kenny Lowe is understandably delighted to see the duo come back into the selection mix.
“It’s well documented that we’ve been hit hard by injuries,” he said, “and we picked up even more last weekend which was really frustrating.
“But having another two quality players available for selection is a real plus.
“The key is for us is to stay as close as we can to the leading pack during this period when we have so many key players missing and then look to kick on when they come back.”
Saturday’s opponents have themselves been hard hit by injuries and international commitments in recent weeks, with the likes of Andrew Durante, Roy Krishna and Michael McGlinchey major doubts for their long trip to nib Stadium.
But Lowe is still wary of Darije Kalezic’s side whose only victory of the season so far came when they downed Glory at Westpac Stadium last month.
“They have some quality players and offer a real threat going forward,” he said.
“The lad [Andrija] Kaludjerovic is the league’s top scorer at the moment and they have the likes of [Dario] Vidosic as well, so we need to be aware of them.
“But as always, we’ll focus mainly upon ourselves.
“Even though we lost last weekend, we dominated the second-placed team and we can draw plenty of confidence from that.”
Phoenix have struggled on the road this term, although they did manage a 0-0 at Brisbane Roar last time out and are set to welcome Iraq international Ali Abbas back into their squad for Saturday, along with Shane Lowry’s brother, Ryan.
Should the Lowrys end up going head-to-head, it will be the first time they have ever done so at professional level.
Glory, meanwhile, will be aiming to secure what would be a ninth home win of 2017 and Diego Castro will be targeting his first start since Round 6 after making a late cameo off the bench last weekend.
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Match Details
Saturday, 16 December 2017
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:00 PM (Local) (10:00 PM AEDT)
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
Video Assistant Referee: Eddie Lennie
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvWEL
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY (c), 5.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 7.Joel CHIANESE , 8.Xavi TORRES, 11. Mitch MALLIA, 13 Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joseph MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18. Andreu GUERAO , 19.Joe KNOWLES, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 24.Callum TIMMINS, 26.Jacob ITALIANO, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 34.Yagoub MUSTAFA
**four to be omitted**
Ins: 24.Callum TIMMINS (promoted), 34.Yagoub MUSTAFA (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 3.Marc WARREN (ankle – 4 weeks), 9.Andy KEOGH (groin – 1 week), 22.Adam TAGGART (hamstring – 1 week), 23.Scott NEVILLE (toe – 2 weeks), 25.Daniel STYNES (hamstring – 2-3 weeks)
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 2.Daniel MULLEN, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Goran PARACKI, 5.Ryan LOWRY, 8.Dario VIDOSIC, 9.Andrija KALUDJEROVIC, 11.Hamish WATSON, 12.Adam PARKHOUSE, 13.Marco ROSSI, 14.Alex RUFER, 16.Ali ABBAS, 18.Sarpreet SINGH, 19.Tom DOYLE, 23.Matthew RIDENTON, 24.Logan ROGERSON, 30.Keegan SMITH (gk)
**one to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Ryan LOWRY (promoted), 16.Ali ABBAS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Dylan FOX (hamstring), 10.Michael McGLINCHEY (groin), 21.Roy KRISHNA (knee), Andrew DURANTE (calf)
#CREATEDESTINY
