Tony Popovic has called upon his Glory side to ‘create more new history’ in Wednesday’s eagerly-anticipated, top-of-the-table clash with Sydney FC at nib Stadium (Kick Off at 7pm).
The men in purple made their best start to a Hyundai A-League campaign and have already won as many games on the road this term as they managed in the previous two campaigns combined.
And the club’s Head Coach has backed his charges to continue that positive trend by bringing the Sky Blues’ nine-match winning run against Glory to an end.
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“This year I think we’ve created a lot of history so far and changed a lot of perceptions and results in terms of past history that the club has had against teams,” he said.
“Tomorrow [Wednesday] we have another chance to create some more new history against Sydney FC and that’s what we’ll be looking to do.
“All the players are available, except for Chris Ikonomidis [away on international duty] and that’s a good headache for me to have as a coach. Everyone that has played has done a wonderful job and everyone that has not played is itching to get into the team.
“That’s exactly what we want that here at the club and I’m sure that whoever is selected will be up for the challenge.”
Popovic went on to express his delight at the mental strength the team showed in recovering from a two-goal half-time deficit to down Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium last time out.
“It’s quite clear how much belief there is among the group,” he said.
“We felt that we started the game very well, but with their first attempt on goal they scored and then lifted with the crowd behind them. They got some confidence and capitalised on that before half-time leaving us a huge challenge.
“But the players took that on and scored four away goals in the second half which is not easy to do. So we were delighted with the performance and the result.
“The January period is difficult, but we’ve dealt with the travel very well so far and we’ll be ready for tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
Steve Corica’s side, meanwhile, currently sit third on the ladder having recorded seven wins from their 11 games, including last month’s 2-1 victory in Perth.
Former Glory man Daniel de Silva is poised to return for the Sky Blues having missed their win over the Mariners last weekend due to a clause in his loan deal preventing him from playing against his parent club.
Grab your tickets for what promises to be one of the biggest games of the season HERE.
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:00PM (Local) (10:00PM (AEDT))
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Arvin Shanmuganathan
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
VAR: Kurt Ams
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #PERvSYD
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Andy KEOGH, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 27.JUANDE, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 13.Matt SPIRANOVIC, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 27.JUANDE
Outs: 15.Brandon WILSON
Unavailable: 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS (international duty)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2.Aaron CALVER, 4.Alex WILKINSON, 6.Josh BRILLANTE, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.Adam LE FONDRE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11. Daniel DE SILVA, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 17. Anthony CACERES, 18.Jacob TRATT, 20.Alex CISAK (gk), 21.Charles LOKOLI-NGOY, 22.Siem DE JONG, 24.Cam DEVLIN, 31.Luke IVANOVIC.
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Daniel DE SILVA (return from non-selection due to Mariners loan agreement), 21.Charles LOKOLI-NGOY (promoted),
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 3.Ben WARLAND (foot – 1 weeks), 5.Jop van der LINDEN (hamstring – 2 weeks), 12.Trent BUHAGIAR (ACL – indefinite), 19.Chris ZUVELA (knee – indefinite), 23. Rhyan GRANT (International Duty)
#OneGlory
