As the countdown to Saturday’s huge clash with Melbourne Victory continues (click HERE for tickets), here’s your regular midweek serving of Opta stats generously garnished with a rich fusion of historical context and Hyundai A-League trivia.
Goals Galore
Glory (47) and Victory (44) are the top-scoring teams in the Hyundai A-League this season, both averaging over two per game.
Glory also lead the way for percentage of shots on target (53.8), percentage of goals to shots (21.3), headed goals (9) and penalties scored (5).
Touch Tight
Jason Davidson and Neil Kilkenny are still battling for the title of Glory’s possession king.
The defender is leading with 1655 to the midfielder’s 1603, although Kilkenny has attempted more passes, 1309 to Davidson’s 1015.
Set-Piece Sorrow
Victory have the lowest percentage of set-piece goals scored (20.5%) in the A-League this term and the highest percentage of set-piece goals conceded (35.7%).
But they have also completed the most passes (11553), ahead of Melbourne City (11075) and Glory (10636).
Hot-Shots
Victory’s Kosta Barbarouses has taken the fourth-highest number of shots in the A-League this season with 68.
Newcastle’s Dimi Petratos leads the way with no fewer than 90, while Andy Keogh tops Glory’s list with 61.
Table Matters
Glory have only finished the regular season in a higher ladder position than Victory on three occasions – 2005-06, 2011-12 and 2015-16.
But if Tony Popovic’s men pick up all three points on Saturday, they would be guaranteed to finish ahead of the navy-and-whites this year.
Deadly Diego
Diego Castro has scored seven times in his eight appearances against Victory, with one of those efforts coming in Glory’s Round 18 win at AAMI Park earlier this year.
The Spaniard has also scored seven times against Melbourne City.
Never A Dull Moment
There has only been one 0-0- draw in the 42 previous A-League meetings between Glory and Victory and that came back in September 2007.
Victory’s 6-2 victory in January 2010 remains the biggest winning margin enjoyed by either side, with Glory’s being a 4-1 triumph in January 2012.
Points to Ponder
Glory have won four of the last five clashes with Victory at HBF Park and already beaten Kevin Muscat’s men twice this season, but the navy-and-whites have lost only one of their last 11 away games.
#OneGlory
