History, milestones, player movements and conceding goals: everything you need to know about Saturday’s match against Central Coast Mariners – watch live on Fox Sports 505 at 7:30pm.
History
Despite it being a fairly recent fixture, the Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners are one of the league’s more intriguing rivalries. Since the Wanderers entered the league in 2012, the two sides faced off in two consecutive finals series but both simultaneously dropped off a cliff in season 2014/15.
In 12 meetings, the Wanderers have won, drawn and lost on four occasions. The matchup is becoming a unique one as a result of several recurring trends: read all about them here.
Bridge’s 100th
All-time leading goalscorer Mark Bridge is set to pencil his name into the Wanderers history books yet again on Saturday when he becomes just the second player to reach a century of appearances.
Team news
Brendon Santalab, Jonathan Aspropotamitis and Mario Shabow are all promoted whilst Nikolai Topor-Stanley is serving a one week suspension.
The Mariners welcome marquee signing Luis Garcia into the matchday squad after signing for Tony Walmsey’s men earlier in the week.
Check the full list of ins and outs here.
Central Coast Mariners
It’s been a pretty torrid season for the league’s perennial overachievers who currently lie bottom of the table after 15 rounds. New gaffer Tony Walmsey is wedded to an adventurous attacking game plan but so far the strategy has proved far too cavalier to bring any significant amount of success on the table.
They’re the team with the worst defensive record (conceding the most goals per game and second most shots on target per game) and have failed to keep a clean sheet all season.
How to watch
If you’re not travelling up to Gosford tonight you can catch all the action on Fox Sports 505 at 7.30pm AEST or listen live on 702 ABC Sydney & ABC Local Radio NSW, Grandstand Digital & Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-League Live
