The Wanderers begin 2025 with their traditional New Year’s Day fixture at home, this time against local foes Macarthur.
Get your tickets to the fixture here.
They will look to start the new year the way they ended 2024, with a bang! The Wanderers are on a four match unbeaten run which has propelled them up the table and into a good vein of form.
They showed a wide range of traits and characteristics in their win over Adelaide; they were on top for much of the first half, but the Reds scored two goals in three minutes to change the trajectory of the game.
The Wanderers didn’t wilt under the pressure, though and equalised just before the break through Marcus Antonsson, who continued his form off the bench in his first start of the season.
It was the perfect tonic for the rest of the game, as they scored quickly after the restart thanks to Brandon Borrello, and proceeded to dominate the second half.
It looked like the game was heading for a draw, until Bozhidar Kraev got on the end of a perfectly weighted Dylan Scicluna pass, drove at the heart of the Adelaide defence and finished well into the bottom corner.
Western Sydney then showed great defensive grit and character to take the sting out of the game and to limit Adelaide to few opportunities in front of goal.
There were a wide range of good performances, but Scicluna once again took the cake with a commanding performance in the middle, before shifting to right back late on and getting the crucial assist to win the game.
It came at a devastating cost, as the young midfielder picked up a serious knee injury and will be out for the rest of the season, a massive blow for a player who had broken out and stamped his authority on the side in the recent good run of form.
Gab Cleur, who also had a solid game against Adelaide, went off injured too in the 79th minute, and it is unknown if he will be fit for the clash against the Bulls.
It is stretching an already thin defence even further, with young centre midfielder Dean Pelekanos forced to fill in at centre back.
But in attack it is where the Wanderers are beginning to flex their muscle, scoring 11 goals in their last four matches, with Borrello and Antonsson scoring three each.
Nicolas Milanovic and Borrello are equal second on the goal scoring charts with five this season, whilst the Wanderers now boast the equal best attack in the league.
It will not be an easy clash against the Bulls, who sit a point ahead of the Wanderers having played a game more.
They haven’t lost since the end of November, but draws are hampering their campaign; three of their last five games have ended in stalemates, including a 4-4 thriller against bottom of the ladder Brisbane, where they conceded in the 93rd minute.
They were good on the road last time out against Perth, winning comfortably 3-0 as Jed Drew bagged a double, and former Wanderers youth product Ariath Piol also got amongst the goals.
The Bulls do not have a good record at CommBank Stadium, though, having lost in their last three trips to the ground.
They lost twice in three matches to the Wanderers, losing 3-1 in the same fixture as well as 3-1 at Campbelltown Stadium later in the year; the other match between the sides ended in a 4-3 win to the Bulls in dramatic and controversial circumstances.
