A-League preview: Latest round of men’s fixtures previewed

Socceroos call-ups could be the talk of the A-League this week, with as many as 10 local stars contending for spots in the national team’s June World Cup qualifiers. FULL PREVIEW INSIDE.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 02: Christopher James Ikonomidis of the Victory and Javi Lopez of United during the A-League Mens match between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory at Coopers Stadium, on April 02, 2022, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

Melbourne Victory star Chris Ikonomidis hinted ‘something was brewing’ at his club, as they prepare for Saturday’s last regular season Melbourne derby before May’s finals series.

A-League leaders Melbourne City could walk into navy blue cauldron at AAMI Park, with Victory hosting their first home derby of the season.

Melbourne is looming as the centrepiece of this season’s finals series, with Western United sandwiched between City and Victory, who are edging closer to completing an extraordinary Tony Popovic-inspired comeback after last season’s wooden spoon.

Watch the world’s best footballers every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. LIVE coverage from LaLiga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Carabao Cup, EFL & SPFL. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Ikonomidis is among a bevvy of stars set to feature on Saturday, with City and Victory set to collectively have anywhere between 6-10 players picked for the Socceroos’ do-or-die June World Cup qualifiers against UAE and potentially Peru.

While Nick D’Agostino and Ben Folami were called up to the most recent qualifiers, Victory teammates Ikonomidis, Matthew Spiranovic, Jason Davidson and Jason Geria are knocking on the door of the Socceroos, who’ve hitherto been dominated by City selections a la Jamie Maclaren, Mathew Leckie, Marco Tilio and Connor Metcalfe.

“There’s definitely something at Victory that’s brewing, that’s special this (season). We got a taste of it with the FFA Cup (win),” Ikonomidis said.

BELOW: EVERY FIXTURE FOR THE LATEST A-LEAGUE ROUND

Chris Ikonomidis (L) battles with Adelaide’s Javi Lopez. Picture: Getty

“I feel we’re happy with where we are but we’re not entirely happy. We definitely have the squad, and the staff and the club size to be challenging for every title. So I’m expecting a big finish and big few years to come for Victory.

“We’ve got loads and loads of games coming up in the next two months, we’re playing every few days almost with Victory and there’s also some massive national team fixtures coming up.

“For me personally, I want to be on the pitch as much as possible and perform to help my club Victory and hopefully that translates into getting the opportunity to help the Socceroos get through to the World Cup.”

Victory and City have had two epic battles – two draws – this season, after City’s utter domination last campaign, headlined by 6-0 and 7-0 wins.

City’s schedule is about to get busier, as they depart for the Asian Champions League group stage next week, in Thailand, before returning for the last two games of the season.

Ikonomidis, who is one of the A-League’s star players but Victory has only seen glimpses of the exciting winger due to niggles, and admitted the schedule uncertainty has affected their momentum.

The ex-Lazio attacker admitted it had been a tough season, factoring in rescheduling, FFA Cup and Asian Champions League games.

“It’s been challenging. Us players, we don’t really get our schedules for the game until a couple of weeks before. The start of the season was blocked quite a lot which means it all got condensed into a few months,” he said.

“Our bodies have been tested with games every few days. You just have to pay extra attention and make sure you’re ready for the games.”

By Tom Smithies

It’s the biggest torrent of goalkeepers the A-League has ever seen – but coaches are being warned not to burn young keepers before they’re ready.

A record number of goalkeepers have played in the A-League this season, a staggering 27, thanks to COVID and a spate of injuries – with more than half being aged 24 or under.

That figure of 27 includes three 17-year-olds, two thrown in for their debuts, including Adam Pavlesic at Sydney FC in the derby last weekend. All three of Adelaide’s senior goalkeepers are 23 or younger, while Brisbane duo Macklin Freke and Jordan Holmes are 23 and 24 respectively.

After mounting concern over Australia’s dwindling goalkeeping stocks, the spate of young keepers has raised hopes that potential successors to Socceroos No 1 Mat Ryan could be fast-tracked.

Is the successor to goalkeeper Mathew Ryan being groomed? Picture: AAP

But former Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, whose man of the match performance won the Asian Champions League in 2014 and who now coaches young goalkeepers, warned that inexperienced custodians could wilt under the weight of expectation unless they get both backing and understanding form their coaches.

Ryan became Mariners first choice aged 18 under now-Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, but made a number of well-publicised mistakes as he found his feet.

Covic said that goalkeeping is a unique position where experience can’t be replicated outside of actual game time at the top level.

“It’s one thing giving youngsters a go but it can be a dangerous thing to keep chopping and changing,” Covic said. “During my career I used to hate being No 2 at a club because generally the No 1 would be established and would do everything they could to stay there.

“Coaches generally understood that for young goalkeepers, match experience is the most important part of your development. You can have reflexes and raw talent, but it’s in playing games that you improve your mentality and focus, you learn to read the game, your positioning improves and you grow into the role.

“Obviously there are reasons why so many keepers have been used this season, but in general you need coaches to accept the risks that come with inexperience, and be prepared to back a young goalkeeper.”

Covic believes that young goalkeepers with the best talent need to be nurtured, and viewed as a long-term project if Australia is to produce top-quality shotstoppers in the future.

“With certain young keepers you can see they have something special but you still need to have a coach who backs them and accepts that they will make mistakes as they learn,” he said.

“Mat Ryan came in at 18 and he had not only Graham Arnold as his head coach but John Crawley as his goalkeeping coach who had known him for years. So they knew there was something special in Mat. You can’t put in any 17 or 18 year old and expect them to do the same.”

A-LEAGUE FIXTURES

FRIDAY

Adelaide United v Macarthur FC

Coopers Stadium

Kick-off: 7.45pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Adelaide $2.10, Draw $3.70, Victory $1.75

Eager to extend Adelaide United’s winless run to five games is a Macarthur FC side buoyant after a comeback win over Perth Glory, in which captain Ulises Dávila stole the show.

The creative midfielder is back to his best at the Bulls after an injury-hampered start to his first season in Campbelltown. His magic assist for Al Hassan Toure’s go-ahead goal against Perth was one of the highlights of the weekend; Toure will hope to benefit from Dávila’s silver service as he returns to Coopers Stadium to face his former side.

SATURDAY

Western United v Wellington Phoenix

Morshead Park Stadium

Kick-off: 2.05pm AEDT

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Western $1.78, Draw $3.60, Wellington $4.40

Despite trailing Melbourne City on the table, the Premiers Plate is still Western United’s to lose. With games in hand on the league leaders, Western will have firm belief in their ability to finish the regular season on top, and clinch the club’s first piece of silverware.

Beating the ‘Nix will help Western’s cause. Wellington are reeling after a 5-0 loss to Central Coast on Tuesday which followed a 6-0 rout at the hands of Melbourne City the game prior; Ufuk Talay’s side are in danger of free-falling down the table if they fail to arrest their sudden form slump, and fast.

Western Sydney Wanderers v Brisbane Roar

CommBank Stadium

Kick-off: 5.05pm AEDT

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Wanderers $2.05, Draw $3.45, Brisbane $3.45

Three games without a win have sent Mark Rudan’s Western Sydney below Brisbane Roar on the A-League Men’s table; the two sides meet on Saturday with their respectively slim hopes of a finals foray alive – but only just.

Brisbane snapped a three-game losing streak last time out, with young forwards Henry Hore and Luke Ivanovic amongst the goals in a 2-0 win over Newcastle. Hore is now joint top scorer at the club (five goals) as the 22-year-old looks to lead Brisbane along an unlikely pathway to the finals.

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

AAMI Park

Kick-off: 7.45pm AEST

TV: Paramount+, Network 10

Odds: Victory $3.25, Draw $3.50, City $2.10

It’s this season’s third instalment of the Melbourne Derby as Victory and City collide at AAMI Park. There’s been nothing to split these two great rivals this season in two draws to date; it’s been a much improved showing from Victory in 2021/22 after losing two Derby fixtures by a combined score of 13-0 last season.

A clash which promises drama of the highest order and a bumper crowd at AAMI Park has delivered on two occasions in 2021/22 – if either side manages to emerge on top on Saturday night, ultimate bragging rights will be theirs for the regular season.

Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC

Central Coast Stadium

Kick-off: 7.45pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Mariners #3.00, Draw $3.40, Sydney $2.30

The Mariners are charging toward the top six – and return to Central Coast Stadium just days after romping the Phoenix by five goals to nil. Amongst the scorers on Tuesday night was 17-year-old Garang Kuol, brother of Alou whose exploits in the 2020/21 season earned a European move to German side VfB Stuttgart.

With another Kuol on the rise, and Marco Ureña and Jason Cummings scoring for fun, the Mariners are one of the hottest tickets in town – Sydney FC will need to be at their best on their travels to Gosford, or risk being chased down by the Mariners in the battle for finals football.

SUNDAY

Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory

McDonald Jones Stadium

Kick-off: 4.05pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Jets $1.82, Draw $3.60, Glory $4.20

Two disappointing results on the trot have stopped Newcastle’s momentum – a home clash against the Glory could prove the perfect tonic.

Interim Perth head coach Ruben Zadkovich has put an emphasis on youth in his short time at the helm. His side face up to the Jets for the second time in three games, after a 0-0 draw at HBF Park in which Jets creator Daniel Penha earned a late red card for a stray elbow on Glory attacker Giordano Colli.

TUESDAY

Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar

AAMI Park

Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Victory $1.82, Draw $3.60, Brisbane $4.20

It’s a quick turnaround for Brisbane Roar, who travel to face Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night after meeting the Wanderers in Sydney on Saturday afternoon.

These two sides first met this season in November, 2021, with Victory purring at home under Tony Popovic as Nick D’Agostino and Ben Folami put the finishing touches on respectively superb team goals in a 3-0 win.

Sydney FC v Adelaide United

Netstrata Jubilee Stadium

Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Odds: Sydney $2.20, Draw $3.50, Adelaide $3.10

Sydney FC face Adelaide United on Tuesday night in their last game before a significant break to partake in the AFC Asian Champions League group stage.

This will be Sydney’s 24th game of 26 for the season, with games against Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar in May to round out the campaign. With such distance between league fixtures, Steve Corica’s side will want this one to end on a positive note.

WEDNESDAY

Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix

Venue: TBC

Kick-off: TBC

TV: Paramount+

It’s the Distance Derby on Wednesday night as Wellington and Perth face off for the second time this season.

Wellington will be eager to bounce back from a 5-0 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday night, and will take confidence from their last result notched against Perth: a 2-1 win settled by a 97th-minute goal to Nicholas Pennington.

Western Sydney Wanderers v Central Coast

CommBank Stadium

Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST

TV: Paramount+

Central Coast hit the road after back-to-back home games, venturing to CommBank Stadium to face the Wanderers on Wednesday night.

This is the second meeting between these two teams of the season, with an Oliver Bozanic free-kick putting the exclamation mark on a 2-0 Mariners win in December.

Originally published as A-League preview: Latest round of men’s fixtures previewed