Adelaide United secured a finals appearance following their 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix with results falling our way. With two games remaining we examine the multiple permutations of where the Reds could end up at season’s end.
Who, what, where, when
Marco Kurz’s men automatically sealed a finals berth at the end of Round 25 after their victory and the fact Western Sydney Wanderers still have to face Brisbane Roar – meaning points will be dropped by either side when they encounter this weekend.
Adelaide currently sit in fifth place on 36 points with two matches remaining in the regular season, however can finish as high as third or as low as sixth.
As it stands, the Reds are two points behind Melbourne Victory in fourth spot and four points clear of the sixth-ranked Brisbane Roar.
Melbourne City are third with 40 points, while Sydney secured the Premiers’ Plate with Newcastle Jets guaranteed to finish as runners up.
That means while those teams are uncatchable, the Reds can still finish as high as third but would need to win both of their final games against Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers and hope City fail to win their two matches.
Finishing fourth is a more likely possibility if United can take maximum points from their two games and the Victory drop points against either Wellington Phoenix in Round 26 or Sydney FC in their last fixture.
If Adelaide collect four points they will guarantee a fifth place finish, but could also leapfrog the Victory depending on how they fare in their two matches.
Conversely if the Reds lose both matches they could very well slip to sixth.
How the finals series works
Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets have the first week of the finals off, rewarded for finishing in the top two.
Therefore, in the first round – the elimination finals – pits third against sixth and fourth against fifth. The highest ranked teams in both fixtures plays at home and the winners from each tie then proceed to the next week.
The semi-finals occur in the second week where Sydney hosts the team who finished the lowest out of the remaining final four, while Newcastle faces the next highest-placed team.
The sides that prevail from these two matches meet in the Grand Final.
Who we could face
Simply put there are a couple of scenarios. It is all dependent on where we finish, however if we use the current league standings as an example, occupying fifth spot would see us travel to Victoria to play the fourth-positioned Melbourne Victory.
Adelaide United face Sydney FC in Round 26 of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season on Sunday, 8 April at Allianz Stadium. Kick-off is at 6.30pm ACST.
