Western Sydney Wanderers are happy and in winning form but head coach Marko Rudan is determined not to let his side get complacent against early strugglers Brisbane Roar.
Get your tickets to Saturday night’s clash against Brisbane here.
The Wanderers have started their A-League Men campaign with consecutive 1-0 wins over Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory ahead of the Roar’s visit to CommBank Stadium on Saturday evening.
In contrast, Brisbane, including star English striker Charlie Austin, are yet to score, with a 0-0 draw against Macarthur FC and 2-0 loss to Melbourne City so far.
The Roar have also been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, coming under criticism for making drastic cuts to their academy system.
Rudan expects the Queenslanders to stand up in Saturday’s clash.
“They’ve played some good football and they’re going to be respected,” Rudan told the Wanderers’ media.
“They’ve got some very good players in that team and they’ve got a very good striker who’s been there and done that and they’ve got a solid defence.
“They’ve got a very good team … so it’s going to be a tough encounter.
“We’ve got to respect them, like we do every opposition.”
Winger Brandon Borrello said Western Sydney were high on confidence after their win over the Victory in Melbourne.
The Wanderers, who are hoping to end a five-season finals drought, won their opening two games for the first time since 2019-20, and their first back-to-back wins since May 2021.
“We’re all feeling that we’re the team to beat and the boss has drilled it into us, ‘keep level heads going into the next round’,” Borrello said.
“Because Brisbane obviously didn’t start off too well and they’ve got nothing to lose.
“We’re playing at home, we’ve got six points already.
“It’s definitely going to be a test, a mental test as well, but the boys are just looking at it as the exact same preparation as for Victory and Perth, so it’s going to be a good game.”
