As the pointy end of the A-League season approaches, Adelaide United must take advantage that five of its remaining eight games are at Coopers Stadium to give itself the best chance of securing a top-two finish.
The Reds begin the first of two back-to-back Friday night home matches when it tackles Western United tomorrow.
Carl Veart’s troops have been almost indomitable at home this year with six wins and a draw in eight games.
Adelaide currently occupies fourth spot having suffered a 2-1 defeat to Wellington Phoenix, but are just two points adrift of ladder leader Melbourne City.
Meanwhile, Western have crept into the top six and are unbeaten in its past three fixtures – most recently dispatching Newcastle Jets 2-0 on Monday.
The pair met way back on the opening day of the campaign to launch the season in what finished a goalless stalemate.
Veart on Western United…
They’re a very good side and a very difficult side to beat. They’ve got a lot of experienced players, so very difficult to come up with a game plan against them because of the way that they play. So I think it’s going to be a fairly exciting game, I’d say there might be a few goals in the game as well.
Veart on top-six permutations…
All the games are very important now at this back end of the season. There’s a lot teams pushing to make the six and a lot of teams pushing now to make that top two spot. I’ve said before our home games are really important and we have very good success at home so we’re expecting tomorrow night to be no different.
Veart on how the team trained this week…
They’ve been a little bit sore this week, I’ll be honest with that. So it’s been a very light week on the track this week and we have to be mindful of the playing group with where we are and what we’ve got ahead of us as well.
Veart on Mohamed Toure’s return…
Mo has had another week of full training and he’s available as well. We know Mohamed is a very exciting player and he’ll most probably take part in the matchday squad. Whether he gets an opportunity to play that will depend on how the game pans out.
Team news
Mohamed Toure is available for selection after overcoming a hamstring issue with Veart hinting he may play some role depending on the situation of the game. Pacifique Niyongabire and Yared Abetew have both been promoted.
Meanwhile, James Delianov remains ruled out but Veart confirmed he will line up for the Young Reds in the local National Premier League on Saturday before being available to join the senior squad. Michael Jakobsen and Javi López are both making steady progress, while Nathan Konstandopoulos remains the only long-term injury. To see the extended squad click here.
Head-to-head
Played: 3
Wins: 1
Draws: 1
Losses: 1
Previous meetings
0-0 draw (A)
1-5 loss (H)
3-4 win (A)
Ones to watch
When Craig Goodwin scores Adelaide win. His five goals have all contributed to victories since joining the team midseason. However, when he is not hitting the back of the net, the 29-year-old is still heavily involved. Goodwin has also recorded five assists in what has been a productive return to his hometown club. The Reds’ faithful will be hoping for another strong performance and get back to winning ways.
It is no secret Alessandro Diamanti remains the Green and Black’s biggest threat. The Italian attacking midfielder orchestrates the tempo and is capable of threading a pass from almost any angle. Stifling his influence on proceedings will certainly boost United’s chances of achieving its objective.
Match details:
Friday, 30 April vs Western United
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 19
Kick-off 7.05pm ACST
Gates open 6.05pm ACST
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
