Adelaide United midfielder, Riley McGree, insists fatigue should not be a major issue for the Reds as they prepare to face Western Sydney Wanderers at Spotless Stadium on Saturday night.
The Reds arrived in Sydney on Friday morning following their midweek away clash against Jiangsu Suning in the AFC Champions League.
Saturday’s clash will be the second meeting against the Wanderers this season, after Guillermo Amor’s men endured a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Coopers Stadium in Round 2.
McGree said morale within the group remained upbeat and claimed there were plenty of encouraging signs versus the Chinese outfit, despite suffering a 2-1 loss.
“The boys are pretty positive,” McGree said.
“There’s obviously a lot of positives to take away from the result we got there (against Jiangsu Suning).
“I guess you could say we’re unlucky not to get a draw or a point away, but there’s definitely positives.”
The 18-year-old believed the lengthy travel, experienced by both sides, would only have a minor impact on proceedings.
“I think the squads might change, but we’ve just have to prepare well,” he explained.
“Both teams will prepare well, but it (the travel) might have a bit of an effect but not too much.
“The boys should still be able to push through (any potential fatigue).”
Adelaide are yet to taste success over Tony Popovic’s troops in Western Sydney since the side’s inception to the Hyundai A-League in 2012.
However, the previous two visits to Wanderland have yielded two goalless stalemates.
McGree further admitted he is looking forward to playing in the wet conditions forecast for the match.
“It’s always good playing in the wet, we just have to adjust to it of course,” he continued.
“But the wet conditions are always what you want to play in.”
Adelaide United will face Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 22 of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season on Saturday, 4 March at Spotless Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT.
