The Wanderers will play their first match at Western United’s new home ground on Sunday afternoon.
After their nomadic existence from Geelong to Ballarat to Hobart, they are finally able to play at Ironbark Fields, but the Wanderers will look to spoil John Aloisi’s first home game of the season.
Not that Alen Stajcic’s side will need any extra motivation for this match, as they look to bounce back from a loss in a closely contested Sydney Derby last weekend.
It was a brilliant occasion at a packed out CommBank Stadium, but despite the debut of superstar Juan Mata in the second half, the Wanderers ultimately fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Despite the loss, there were many positives for Western Sydney to take from the clash, where many youngsters featured and performed well.
Top of the pile in this aspect were Aydan Hammond and Tristan Vidackovic.
Hammond was a constant thorn in the opposition defence throughout the match and had several key chances in the game; one was cleared off the line by Alex Popovic and another went agonisingly over the bar just before the break.
He made no mistake with his golden chance in the second half, with an assured finish to help bring the Wanderers level with his second A-League goal for the club.
Vidackovic too had an impressive game in his A-League debut in place of captain Lawrence Thomas.
He impressed with his short and long distribution and also made some key stops, including a phenomenal save to tip a Patryk Klimala header onto the crossbar.
Should Thomas be unable to start this weekend, expect the tall 21-year-old to once again take the gloves against Western United.
The likes of Ben Holliday and Dean Pelekanos also made their professional debuts in Red and Black off the bench in the derby, and they will be hoping to play prominent roles once again.
Holliday in particular was impressive in his cameo at left back, and may have given Stajcic some food for thought ahead of Sunday’s clash.
He may look to inject some experience into the starting side in the form of Mata and Bozhidar Kraev.
The pair looked impressive when coming off the bench last weekend, and given their impact on the game they could be introduced into the starting eleven in a rejigged shape, where they could both play in the midfield, or with Kraev on the left wing and Mata in the creative attacking midfielder spot.
Stajcic played with both a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 during the derby, showing the Wanderers have the ability to be flexible within games, and it could be a big strength of the side this season.
Potential starts for Kraev and Mata would also be good news for the likes of Brandon Borrello and Nicolas Milanovic, who will look to get their first league goals of the season this weekend, and could benefit from the excellent service the two midfielders could provide.
Western United managed to fight to a 1-1 draw away to Wellington in their opening match of the season, with Angus Thurgate equalising in the second half.
There will be a familiar face in the United lineup in Tate Russell, who came through the youth ranks at the Wanderers and became a popular figure at the club.
The Wanderers did well against Western United last season, recording a record equalling 5-0 win at home and a 1-0 win at North Hobart Oval in the new year, before going down at home in their final matchup of the season.
Western United v Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Sunday 27 October, 4:00pm
Ironbark Fields
