Match Details:
Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
Date: Saturday 6 January
Time: Kick-off: 9:45pm (AEDT)
Location: HBF Park, Perth
PREVIEW
Late goals from Zinédine Machach and Bruno Fornaroli last weekend made all the difference as Victory defeated Adelaide United 2-0.
Tony Popovic’s side now sit second on the Isuzu UTE A-League table with a chance to go top Saturday night in Perth.
With our boys in blue now facing three matches in a row on the road, Popovic said his team are well positioned for what’s ahead.
“We’re undefeated, we’re in a good position and we go into this tough period of away games, starting with Perth Glory tomorrow, we have an opportunity to win another game of football and possibly be top of the table,” Tony said.
Popovic knows first-hand how difficult away trips to Perth can be, and doesn’t expect tomorrow night to be any different.
“I know first-hand how tough it is to get results in Perth from coaching there. They’ve got good support,” he said.
“We expect a very difficult game and we have to approach it in that manner and respect our opponent, which we always do. And if we can navigate the difficulties that this trip brings, we know with the football we’re playing, we have a chance to continue on this great run.
“They’ve (Perth) obviously had a tough run of results, but they also showed great character and fighting spirit in their last home game against Macarthur, where at halftime they’re two-nil down, hadn’t had the results leading into that that they wanted, and they showed great character to come back. So we know they have quality.”
With star striker Bruno Fornaroli on international duty with the Socceroos, Popovic now has the tough task of having to fill the gap left by the league’s top goal scorer.
“We’ve got a few options you’ll see tomorrow, but I wouldn’t say we necessarily tried so many different things this week,” he explained.
“We’ve been constantly putting players in different positions throughout the preseason and season thus far in anticipation that there could be an injury or suspension.
“Obviously it’s come up in a different way, with the Socceroos call-up for Bruno, but we feel we have good alternatives and good options in that area.”
FROM TONY
THE STATS
Tony Popovic’s side are undefeated in their last 10 A-League Men games (W5 D5) and have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games which is as many as they had kept across their previous 26 games in the competition.
Perth Glory have scored a league-high five goals from outside the box this A-League Men season while Victory are one of two teams yet to concede a goal from outside this box this campaign.
Perth Glory have lost only one of their last five A-League Men games against Victory (W3 D1) and have conceded just three goals in that span.
SQUAD
2.Jason GERIA, 3.Adama TRAORE, 4.Rai MARCHAN, 5.Damien DA SILVA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 8.Zinedine MACHACH, 11.Ben FOLAMI, 14.Connor CHAPMAN, 16.Stefan NIGRO, 17.Nishan VELUPILLAY, 18.Fabian MONGE, 19.Daniel ARZANI, 20.Paul IZZO, 21.Roderick MIRANDA, 22.Jake BRIMMER, 24.Eli ADAMS, 25.Ryan TEAGUE, 27.Jordi VALADON, 40.Christian SICILIANO
Ins: 3.Adama TRAORE, 4.Rai MARCHAN, 27.Jordi VALADON
Outs: 10.Bruno FORNAROLI
