Friday’s only A-League Round 16 match is between Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 8:00pm AEDT with the game to be played at Suncorp Stadium. The home team Brisbane Roar are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix.
Round: Round 16, Friday, 24 January 2014, 7.00pm local (8:00pm AEDT)
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Head to head: Played: 22 Wins: Roar 14, Phoenix 2, Draws: 6
Previous encounter: Phoenix 1-2 Roar, December 14, 2013
Brisbane Roar $1.44 vs Wellington Phoenix $7.00 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Brisbane Roar $1.45 vs Wellington Phoenix $6.50 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
Brisbane Roar | 1.44 | 1.50 | 1.45 | 1.50 | 1.44 | 1.44 |
Draw | 4.50 | 4.00 | 4.20 | 4.00 | 4.50 | 4.33 |
Wellington Phoenix | 7.00 | 6.65 | 6.50 | 6.65 | 7.00 | 6.50 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Brisbane Roar squad:
1.Michael THEO, 2.Matthew SMITH (c), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 10.HENRIQUE, 11.Liam MILLER, 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Diogo FERREIRA, 15.James DONACHIE, 17.Matt McKAY, 18.Luke BRATTAN, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Matthew ACTON (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 26.Corey BROWN, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 34.Patrick THEODORE, 35.Jai INGHAM
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 14.Diogo FERREIRA (returns from suspension), 15.James DONACHIE (returns from injury), 26.Corey BROWN (returns from international duty – Young Socceroos)
Outs: 7.Besart BERISHA (suspended – one week)
Unavailable: 5.Ivan FRANJIC (stomach injury – one week), 25.George LAMBADARDIS (knee – season)
Wellington Phoenix Squad:
1.Glen Moss (GK), 2.Manny Muscat, 3.Reece Caira, 4.Luke Adams, 5.Michael Boxall, 6.Josh Brindell-South, 7.Leo Bertos, 10.Stein Huysegems, 11.Jeremy Brockie, 12.Tyler Boyd, 13.Albert Riera, 14.Alex Rufer, 15.Jason Hicks, 17.Vince Lia, 18.Ben Sigmund, 20.Lewis Italiano (GK), 22.Andrew Durante (c), 24.Roy Krishna.
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Reece Caira (returns from u-22 international duty), 4.Luke Adams (promoted), 6.Josh Brindell-South (promoted), 14.Alex Rufer (promoted), 15.Jason Hicks (promoted),
Outs: 9.Kenny Cunningham (international duty), 21.Carlos Hernandez (international duty), 23.Michael Ridenton (injury).
Unavailable: 8.Paul Ifill (ruptured Achilles, 8-12 months), 16.Louis Fenton (shoulder injury, season), 23 Matthew Ridenton (medial ligament strain, 1-2 weeks).
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Roar: DLWWL
Phoenix: WDWWW
The Game:
Wellington, along with Adelaide, are the A-League’s in-form team, having won four and drawn one of their last five matches to be unbeaten since a 1-0 loss at Central Coast in December.
Ernie Merrick’s message has finally clicked with his players, prompting a run of improved performances culminating in a thumping 5-0 win over Melbourne Victory.
That streak also included a 3-1 triumph away to reigning premiers Western Sydney, but a bigger challenge looms this week.
The Roar have been a little shaky of late, losing 2-1 at home to Adelaide and being held 0-0 away to Perth Glory.
Besart Berisha was sent off in WA, and will be suspended for the game against Phoenix.
Wellington have never won away to Brisbane, and Mike Mulvey’s team still boast the tightest defence in the competition, demonstrating the scale of the task confronting the visitors from New Zealand.
The big issue:
Roar – Players must step up and supply the goals in Berisha’s absence.
The Albanian has scored in four of the last five games between Brisbane and Wellington, but will be watching on from the stands this week. Dimitri Petratos demonstrated his potential as a goal-scorer with a hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Sydney on Boxing Day and has four goals this season in total, followed by Henrique with three among the forwards.
Ivan Franjic (four goals) is injured, while skipper Matt Smith has struck three times from centre-back. Thomas Broich, Matt McKay, Luke Brattan and Jade North all have one goal each. There are certainly plenty of threatening players in the squad, but there’s no denying they are a less dangerous proposition without Berisha.
Phoenix – For Wellington, this match represents an opportunity to demonstrate if their recent run of good results is a temporary purple patch or the beginning of a push into finals and perhaps even title contention.
With the competition so even this season – the Wanderers are not playing at the same level as last term and the Roar are not invulnerable – Wellington’s candidacy is as strong as any member of the chasing pack.
If they can end their Queensland win drought and deal a blow to Brisbane, there will be a real buzz about the Kiwis.
The game breaker:
Thomas Broich – the German playmaker, carrying a corked thigh, fought through the pain barrier to produce an impressive performance against Perth last week and is likely to be as crucial as always to the Roar’s hopes.
No player in the A-League has a created more chances (49) for team-mates than Broich so far this season, although a battle of the playmakers looms, with Wellington’s Carlos Hernandez (42) second on that list.
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au