The Wanderers make the long trip to Western Australia as they face the Perth Glory in Saturday night A-League Men’s action.
Western Sydney will look to right the wrongs of their chastening midweek defeat against Melbourne City, and they will hope the return of captain Marcelo to the starting side will bring solidity after he missed the City game due to suspension.
The Wanderers will not be short of motivation this weekend, as their loss on Tuesday night saw Melbourne City overtake them on the table, with the Red and Black now in seventh position heading into their clash against the Glory.
In a boost for the Wanderers, their injury woes have eased, as Marcuss Antonsson and Lawrence Thomas returned to the starting lineup after spells on the sideline, whilst Brandon Borrello proved he was back to full fitness as he was named captain of the side in Marcelo’s absence.
The return of key players couldn’t have come sooner for Western Sydney, as they will want to find a win that will see them potentially re-enter the top six and steady a campaign that has hit choppy waters in recent weeks.
There is little margin of error now for the Wanderers with just six games left in the season, but they will still have the belief and confidence they can rediscover their winning touch to achieve their objectives for the season.
With Marcelo and Thomas hoping to help keep a clean sheet at the back, the Wanderers will turn to the likes of Lachie Brook and Nicolas Milanovic to fire the attack alongside Borrello and Antonsson.
Brook and Milanovic each have seven league goals in the season, with the pair chipping in for two and three assists respectively as they have shown fine form for Western Sydney.
The conveyor belt of young talent coming through the Academy side also shone through on Tuesday, as 17-year-old centre back Nathan Barrie made his professional debut for the club off the bench, with Zac Sapsford and Nathaneal Blair also featuring for the senior side in recent weeks.
Their opponents this weekend will also be desperate for a win to keep alive their faint hopes to play finals football, as they sit eight points off the top six.
Perth have only lost one of their last eight matches, but only three of those have been wins, with four draws in this run highlighting the Glory’s failure to close out matches in key moments.
They are also winless in their last three, with home draws against Wellington and Newcastle dragged down by a loss to bottom side Western United.
Any success for Alen Stajcic’s side will lay at the feet of marksman Adam Taggart, whose 14 goals in the season have seen him earn a recall to the Socceroos side for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Stefan Colakovski has also impressed with six goals and has formed an impressive striking duo with Taggart.
Despite strong attacking performances, their defence has let them down, with just two clean sheets in the entire season and 41 goals conceded in 20 matches.
The sides have already clashed twice this season in Parramatta, with the Wanderers winning comfortably 2-0 in the first game, before falling victim to a smash and grab 2-1 victory for the Glory in January.
The Wanderers last clash in Perth ended in a highly frustrating defeat; in a game the Wanderers dominated in the stats, they fell victim to a heavily deflected goal against the run of play in stoppage time that condemned them to a 1-0 defeat, they will hope lady luck will be smiling on them this time as they travel across the country.
