Rivalries: Week 3 A-League Preview | Thebigtip

That makes it three out of three weeks I’ve had the subtitle starting with an ‘R’. How long can I keep it going? Most likely no longer than this, but it’s been a great run to this point.

Last week the first page of the preview had five things I had noticed from Round 1 that didn’t fit into the match previews. Keeping with the same theme for this week, here are five articles I enjoyed/newsworthy items/hilarious social media hashtags from the week that was.

1) Jets Confirm van Egmond Return

It doesn’t come any bigger than this for the week. He left amidst a cloud of controversy; Newcastle proceeded to achieve roughly the equivalent of Glenn McGrath at the batting crease while he was away, and now he’s back to resurrect their fortunes. If only he brought Joel Griffiths back with him.

2) Macallister Bitten By Redback

Does that title really need any elaboration, or is it funny enough on its own? It’s clearly the latter.

3) An Englishman Discovers The A-League

It’s an old article, but because I stumbled across it this week it deserves inclusion in the top 5. It includes Sydney heartbreak, Socceroos victories and the end result is a new fan of the A-League; what’s not to like?

4) The #HeartStories Hashtag On Twitter

During the week the Melbourne Heart Twitter account decided it would be a great idea to ask their supporter base how they began their affiliation with the Heart. The kicker in the request was to tag the tweet with #HeartStories.

It’s a great idea...in theory. On a platform like Facebook it probably would have went down swimmingly; the problem is on Twitter anyone can get a hold of anything. And by anyone, that means Melbourne Victory supporters. A few short hours later Twitter had crude, hilarious and flat-out wrong tweets mixed in amongst the genuine stories from Heart supporters.

5) The Asian Champions League Fight

A-League clubs play in the ACL, so despite no-one of note being involved in the now infamous brawl between Suwon and Al Sadd, the link is tenuous enough to include it here at number five. Just watch the video.

Now with that out of the way, onto the matches for the week!

Match 1: Brisbane v Gold Coast
Match 2: Adelaide v Sydney
Match 3: Melbourne Victory v Melbourne Heart
Match 4: Newcastle v Central Coast
Match 5: Perth v Wellington

Brisbane v Gold Coast

Date: Friday 21st October
Time: 8:30pm EDT
Location: Suncorp Stadium
Coverage: From 8:00pm EDT on Fox Sports 1
Referee: Peter Green

Sportsbet Odds

Brisbane: $1.50
Draw: $3.85
Gold Coast: $6.25

Squads

Brisbane

1. Michael Theoklitos (GK), 2. Matt Smith (C), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 4. Matt Jurman, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 9. Kofi Danning, 10. Henrique, 11. Issey Nakajima-Farran, 16. Mohamed Adnan, 17. Mitch Nichols, 20. Andrew Redmayne, 21. James Meyer, 22. Thomas Broich

In: Henrique (Promoted)
Out: Nil

Unavailable: Matt Mundy (Knee Injury – 2 Weeks), Rocky Visconte (Hamstring Strain – 2 Weeks)

Gold Coast

1.Glen Moss (GK), 2.Josh Brillante, 3.Michael Thwaite (C), 5.Kristian Rees, 6.Paul Beekmans, 7.Golgol Mebrahtu, 8.Robson, 9.Joel Porter, 10.Tahj Minniecon, 12.Dylan Macallister, 13.Ante Rozic, 14.Ben Halloran, 15.Adama Traore, 16.Maceo Rigters, 18.James Brown, 20.Jerrad Tyson (GK), 21.Daniel Severino, 22.Peter Jungschlager, 23.Dylan McGowan.

In: Golgol Mebrahtu (promoted), Tahj Minniecon (promoted), Maceo Rigters (visa clearance), Daniel Severino (promoted).
Out: Nil

Unavailable: Chris Broadfoot (ankle injury – 6 weeks)

The Lead-In

As was to be expected, Bleiberg has spent the whole week talking up the significance of the matchup; the usual about how important the game is for his club, how they’re primed for the opportunity. Basically nothing that you wouldn’t expect from Bleiberg at this point.

And Gold Coast is also yet to taste defeat; as minor as that seems, it’s always a small motivational tool for the players and everyone involved. They should come out and attempt to attack Brisbane early to hopefully catch them off guard. Whether they actually follow through on that will depend on whatever bizarre combination of numbers Bleiberg decides to use as a formation.

In the second entry of the ‘as was to be expected’ files, the media has gone into overdrive about Brisbane not having missed a beat, runaway champions, etc. Most of the hyperbole has been justified, but what should be the main point on them – and isn’t – is just how much Postecoglou thinks this team can improve.

While everyone may be focusing on how scary they look to opposition, last week Postecoglou was fuming over a missed opportunity at 2-0 up deep in the last minutes of the game. That is what should be scaring other teams.

Key for Brisbane: Controlling possession early. It was just mentioned how Gold Coast should come out aggressive in the early minutes, so if Brisbane does control possession early it should be able to suck the life out of Gold Coast. There’s nothing like not being able to get your foot on the ball to test your will to stay in a game.

Key for Gold Coast: Slowing the game down. Conversely, if Gold Coast is able to control the tempo of the game from the outset, they should have a decent chance of sticking with the champions for a longer period of time. Whether they can do it for the majority of the game is the million dollar question.

The X-Factor: James Brown. The godfather of soul could be the surprise breakout player of the season after his second spectacular goal in as many weeks last Saturday against Central Coast. If Gold Coast is going to have an attacking spark against the dominant Brisbane defence, he could be the one to provide it.

Tip: Brisbane (2-0)

Bet: Brisbane first goal after minute 25 ($2.83)

Next: Adelaide v Sydney
Match 3: Victory v Heart
Match 4: Newcastle v Central Coast
Match 5: Perth v Wellington

Adelaide v Sydney

Date: Saturday 22nd October
Time: 5:30pm EDT
Location: Hindmarsh Stadium
Coverage: From 5:00pm EDT on Fox Sports 1
Referee: Gerard Parsons

Sportsbet Odds

Adelaide: $2.10
Draw: $3.35
Sydney: $3.25

Squads

Adelaide

1.Eugene Galekovic (GK), Osama Malik, 4.Jon McKain, 5.Daniel Mullen, 6.Cassio, 7.Zenon Caravella, 8.Evgeniy Levchenko, 9.Sergio Van Dijk, 10.Dario Vidosic, 14.Cameron Watson, 16.Spase Dilevski, 17.Iain Ramsay, 20.Mark Birighitti (GK), 21.Francisco Usucar, 22.Milan Susak, 23.Andy Slory

In: Daniel Mullen (returns from injury), Cameron Watson (promoted)
Out: Bruce Djite (groin – 2 weeks)

Unavailable: Nigel Boogaard (ankle – 3 weeks)

Sydney

1. Liam Reddy, 2. Sebastian Ryall, 3. Jamie Coyne, 4. Pascal Bosschaart, 5. Michael Beauchamp, 6. Hirofumi Moriyasu, 7. Brett Emerton, 8. Karol Kisel, 9. Bruno Cazarine, 10. Nick Carle, 11. Dimi Petratos, 15. Terry McFlynn (c), 17. Terry Antonis, 20. Ivan Necevski, 21. Scott Jamieson, 23 Rhyan Grant

In: Hirofumi Moriyasu (promoted)
Out: Nil

Unavailable: Juho Makela (quad, 4 weeks), Shannon Cole (calf, 1 week), Mark Bridge (suspended – 1 match)

The Lead-In

According to the preview of this game on the A League site, Sydney’s danger man is Pascal Bosschaart. The man who was very poor against the Victory and not much better against Brisbane has apparently settled in nicely at the back. The lifestyle must be good in Sydney then.

Adelaide also ‘have a lot to recommend them’. That makes perfect sense; apart from the part where it doesn’t make any. Rather than over complicate this, here’s what you need to know for this game.

- Sydney has been poor so far this season.
- Adelaide does not lose to Sydney.
- Van Dijk and Vidosic will enjoy themselves as they toy with Jamie Coyne.

Therefore, Adelaide win. Easy thing this football analysis (Just quietly, go put your money on Sydney now).

Key for Adelaide: Involving their quieter new signings so far. Despite the likes of Levchenko and Dilevski not playing in the roles that need them to have a lot of time on the ball, they’ve still been poor or non-existent depending on whose opinion you read. Getting them involved should transition to said players feeling more comfortable in the role they’ve been picked in the side to play.

Key for Sydney: Just scoring. Simple enough. Sometimes the situation calls for a bit of analysis and other times it’s way too easy to needlessly complicate issues. Sydney just needs to see the ball in the back of the opposition’s net.

The X-Factor: The letdown game syndrome. It’s a common theme across all codes; the week after a big match a side tends to be unable to reach the same heights mentally two weeks in a row. After the manner in which Adelaide carried out their victory, it’s a possibility they could fall victim to the same letdown.

Tip: Adelaide (1-0)

Bet: Both Teams To Score – No ($1.83)

Previous: Brisbane v Gold Coast
Next: Victory v Heart
Match 4: Newcastle v Central Coast
Match 5: Perth v Wellington

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne Heart

Date: Saturday 22nd October
Time: 7:45pm EDT
Location: Etihad Stadium
Coverage: From 7:30pm EDT on Fox Sports 1
Referee: Strebre Delovski

Sportsbet Odds

Victory: $1.75
Draw: $3.50
Heart: $4.50

Squads

Victory

2. Matthew Foschini, 3. Fabio, 4. Petar Franjic, 6. Leigh Broxham, 7. Matthew Kemp, 8. Grant Brebner, 9. Jean Carlos Solorzano, 10. Archie Thompson (c), 11. Marco Rojas, 12. Rodrigo Vargas, 13. Diogo Ferreira, 14. Billy Celeski, 15. Tom Pondeljak, 16.Carlos Hernandez, 18. Danny Allsopp, 19. Isaka Cernak, 20. Lawrence Thomas (GK), 21. Ante Covic (GK), 22. Harry Kewell.

In: Tom Pondeljak, Matthew Kemp, Billy Celeski, Danny Allsopp (All Promoted)
Out: Jimmy Jeggo (Omitted), Adrian Leijer (Suspended)

Unavailable: Tando Velaphi (stress fracture)

Heart

1.Clint Bolton, 2.Michael Marrone, 3.Brendan Hamill, 4.Simon Colosimo, 6.Matt Thompson, 7.Rutger Worm, 8.Kristian Sarkies, 9.Maycon, 10.Wayne Srhoj, 11.Alex Terra, 13.Jonatan Germano, 15.David Williams, 16.Aziz Behich, 17.Jason Hoffman, 18.Curtis Good, 22.Nick Kalmar, 23.Mate Dugandzic

In: Simon Colosimo (promoted), Rutger Worm (returns from injury)
Out: Fred – Hamstring (2-4 weeks)

Unavailable: Kamal Ibrahim – Ankle (6 weeks), Eli Babalj – Knee (1 week), Adrian Zahra – Knee (Indefinite), Kliment Taseski – Foot (2 months)

The Lead-In

It’s the game that has been talked about all week in the city of Melbourne; something that this time hasn’t had to be postponed because of a drawn AFL Grand Final. Of course it’s Victory v Heart; the Melbourne derby.

Before the season commenced you would have been hard-pressed to find someone to suggest that the derby would have come around with both Melbourne sides yet to record a win – and the Victory yet to score a goal. But that’s the situation, and so here we are with a delicately poised match.

A Victory loss could set in motion a chain reaction of events that has the potential to torpedo a season flat. With rumblings already growing louder, who knows what a loss could do...and yet with the way the Heart lift for the derbies it could be entirely possible.

Those reading with younger siblings would know how they often strived their utmost when they had a chance to upstage you, the older child. It’s exactly the same situation here – with all of the attention being on the Victory for the past few months, what better opportunity for the Heart to throw some of that on their own backs by toppling the Victory at Etihad Stadium?

Key for Victory: Getting the formation structured correctly. Reports from Victory training during the week indicate that it could very well switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a traditional 4-4-2. Whether that will work remains to be seen; the important thing for the Victory is that they settle on the plan to use to break down the brittle Heart defence.

Key for Heart: Staying tight at the back. The return of Colosimo and Bolton should – in theory – help settle the problems they’ve faced in the first two weeks, but then there’s also the problem of a lack of match practice. Will the two inclusions help the Heart or perhaps hinder them?

The X-Factor: Mate Dugandzic. While in hindsight it was an astute move across the city to the Heart, the Victory fans most likely won’t remember that and will treat him accordingly. With Fred unavailable, Mate becomes the in-form attacking player for the Heart and with his propensity to bob up in goal scoring positions, he has every possibility of finding his name on the scoresheet.

Tip: Victory (2-1)

Bet: Anytime Own Goal ($8.90)

Previous: Adelaide v Sydney
Next: Newcastle v Central Coast
Game 1: Brisbane v Gold Coast
Game 5: Perth v Wellington

Newcastle v Central Coast

Date: Sunday 23rd October
Time: 5:00pm EDT
Location: AUSgrid Stadium
Coverage: From 4:30pm EDT on Fox Sports 1
Referee: Jarred Gillett

Sportsbet Odds

Newcastle: $2.60
Draw: $3.30
Central Coast: $2.50

Squads

Newcastle

1. Ben Kennedy (gk), 2. Taylor Regan, 4. Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5. Tiago Calvano, 6. Ben Kantarovski, 7. Kasey Wehrman, 8. Jeremy Brockie, 10. Ruben Zadkovich, 11. Tarek Elrich, 12. Jobe Wheelhouse (c), 13. Sung-Hwan Byun, 14. Labinot Haliti, 17. James Virgili, 19. Matthew Nash, 22. Ali Abbas, 23. Ryan Griffiths

In: Taylor Regan (promoted)
Out: Nil

Unavailable: Francis Jeffers (awaiting clearance)

Central Coast

1. Mathew Ryan, 2. Daniel McBreen, 3. Joshua Rose, 4. Pedj Bojic, 5. Brad Porter, 6. Patrick Zwaanswijk (C), 8. Rostyn Griffiths, 9. Bernie Ibini, 10. Adriano Pellegrino, 11. Oliver Bozanic, 12. Troy Hearfield, 14. Michael McGlinchey, 16. Trent Sainsbury, 19. Matthew Simon, 20. Justin Pasfield, 21. Sam Gallagher, 23. Adam Kwasnik

In: Brad McDonald, Trent Sainsbury, Michael Baird, Sam Gallagher
Out: Nil

Unavailable: John Hutchinson (On Loan), Stuart Musialik (Adductor – 2 weeks), Alex Wilkinson (Forearm – 1 week), Mustafa Amini (Groin – 3 weeks)

The Lead-In

While Central Coast have remained relatively quiet, all the focus has been on Newcastle and their announcement that Gary van Egmond has been welcomed back into their fold to begin his second stint as Jets coach.

It’s a great coup for Tinkler and Newcastle; van Egmond worked wonders with Newcastle the first time around, and with more of, well, everything at his disposal this time, if he’s given the time he should be able to mould the Newcastle squad into something he’s comfortable with. However, that – undoubtedly – will take some time.

Key for Newcastle: How quickly van Egmond can re-acclimatise to the Newcastle surroundings. It was just a couple of weeks ago there was a similar key for Newcastle with their caretaker coach after the sacking of Branko Culina. While van Egmond has obviously been at the Jets before, he walks into a different atmosphere than what he departed a couple of season ago.

Key for Central Coast: Finding a creative spark from the tip of the midfield diamond. The injury to Amini has clearly restricted any attacking output Central Coast is capable of. With their strikers suffering from a lack of supply, they’re not the type that can go and get their own ball to create from. It all leads to a big ball of nothing coming from the attacking midfield position.

The X-Factor: The atmosphere surrounding the derby. There tend to be a lot of draws in these sorts of matches, and with the lack of strike power in both clubs line-ups everything points towards a stalemate. But a derby makes people do strange things...

Tip: Draw (0-0)

Bet: Draw/Draw HT/FT ($4.50)

Previous: Victory v Heart
Next: Perth v Wellington
Game 1: Brisbane v Gold Coast
Game 2: Adelaide v Sydney

Perth v Wellington

Date: Sunday 23rd October
Time: 7:30pm EDT
Location: NIB Stadium
Coverage: From 7:00pm EDT on Fox Sports 1
Referee: Chris Beath

Sportsbet Odds

Perth: $1.50
Draw: $3.90
Wellington: $6.25

Squads

Perth

1.Danny Vukovic, 2.Josh Mitchell, 3.Bas Van Den Brink, 4.Billy Mehmet, 6.Chris Coyne, 7.Jacob Burns, 8.Adam Hughes, 9.Shane Smeltz, 10.Liam Miller, 12.Scott Neville, 13.Travis Dodd, 14.Steven McGarry, 15.Tommy Amphlett, 17.Todd Howarth, 18.Jesse Makarounas, 19.Josh Risdon, 21.Mile Sterjovski, 22.Adam Taggart, 27.Andrezinho, 30. Lewis Italiano

In: Josh Mitchell, Adam Hughes, Evan Berger, Jesse Makarounas, Mile Sterjovski, Adam Taggart
Out: Neil Young (Abdominal Injury)

Unavailable: Victor Sikora (Hip – Long Term Injury List)

Wellington

1. Mark Paston (gk), 2. Manny Muscat. 3. Tony Lochhead, 4. Brent Griffiths, 7. Leo Bertos, 9. Chris Greenacre, 11. Daniel, 12. Nicky Ward, 13. Niko Tsattalios, 15. Cameron Lindsay, 18. Ben Sigmund, 19. Jimmy Downey, 20. Tony Warner, 21. Dani Sanchez, 22. Andrew Durante, 24 Alex Smith

In: Cameron Lindsay, Niko Tsattalios, Jimmy Downey (all promoted)
Out: Tim Brown (suspended – 1 match), Paul Ifill (groin – 2-4 weeks)

Unavailable: Lucas Pantelis (ACL rupture, indefinite), Mirjan Pavlovic (Broken arm, 8 to 10 weeks), Vince Lia (knee, indefinite)

The Lead-In

It’s a minor miracle that Wellington has enough available players to actually take part in this game. When the referee started his card crusade in the dying minutes of their win last Sunday I was fully expecting this week’s match to be Tony Warner and Mark Paston v Perth in a battle of the gloves.

But somehow Wellington has cobbled a team together to take part in the distance derby as Andy Harper coined it during the week (what a great name). However, they’ll be coming up against a Perth side that will be raging favourites.

Last week in the preview I said I’d be cautiously optimistic, and I’m continuing along those lines. Any Perth fans reading this will probably be thinking I’m refusing to give them any credit for their two wins to start the season; and you wouldn’t be without justification.

However, I’ve been burnt before – and given just how bad the Heart were against Perth last Sunday it’s not a stretch to say the New Zealand Knights reserve team would have given them a shake. Mark Weeks 6, 7 and 8 down as the stretch where we find out what Perth are capable of this season.

Key for Perth: Exploiting the defensive midfielders of the Phoenix. The unavailability of both Lia and Tim Brown means that the centre of the park is completely vacant in terms of defensive power. It’s a gaping hole that Perth needs to take advantage of. Yes I realise how that sounds, and it was fully intended.

Key for Wellington: Staying solid out in the wide defensive areas. When Andrezinho commences one of his runs at the full backs, Manny Muscat will have to be the defender tasked with shutting him down. When Smeltz drifts out wide Lochhead has to pull double duty to make sure he doesn’t set off on one of his winding runs. It’s shaping up as a long day at the office.

The X-Factor: Leo Bertos. With Greenacre likely to be isolated far, far away from other human life he’ll have to rely on Bertos for his main supply. The former Glory player has to be on top of his game with his delivery from out wide if Greenacre and Wellington are going to pinch a goal in the longest road trip of the league.

Tip: Perth (1-0)

Bet: Perth To Keep A Clean Sheet ($2.07)

Previous: Newcastle v Central Coast
Game 1: Brisbane v Gold Coast
Game 2: Adelaide v Sydney
Game 3: Victory v Heart