The Western Sydney Wanderers will look to bounce back from last weekend’s Sydney Derby disappointment when they travel across the Tasman to face Wellington Phoenix this Saturday afternoon at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch.
With both sides desperate to finish the campaign strongly, the penultimate round fixture shapes as a crucial contest for two teams eager to respond following defeats in their most recent outings.
Wellington Phoenix enter the match after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Melbourne City at AAMI Park, ending their four-match unbeaten run and dealing a significant blow to their finals hopes.
Despite a competitive opening half, the Phoenix fell behind in unfortunate circumstances when Aziz Behich’s strike took a deflection and wrong-footed goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi. The hosts doubled their advantage in the 76th minute through Marcus Younis to secure all three points.
Chris Greenacre’s side showed moments of promise throughout the contest, with Corban Piper, Ramy Najjarine and Sander Kartum all going close, but were ultimately unable to break down Melbourne City’s defence.
The Wanderers, meanwhile, will be searching for an immediate response after falling 2-0 to Sydney FC in the 44th edition of the Sydney Derby.
Goals to Al Hassan Touré and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos secured the result for the Sky Blues in a fiercely contested encounter at CommBank Stadium, despite the Wanderers producing several strong attacking moments throughout the contest.
Brandon Borrello came closest to finding the net in the opening half when his curling effort crashed against the crossbar, while Bozhidar Kraev had a second-half equaliser ruled out following VAR intervention after Steven Ugarkovic’s delivery caused chaos inside the penalty area.
Anthony Pantazopoulos also went close late in the match with a glancing header that skimmed the crossbar as the Wanderers pushed for a way back into the contest.
With pride, momentum and valuable points on the line, Saturday’s clash in Christchurch presents the Wanderers with an important opportunity to finish the season strongly and respond against a Wellington side equally determined to keep their campaign alive.
Kick-off at Apollo Projects Stadium is set for 3:00pm AEST on Saturday afternoon.
