Western United heads back on the road in search of back to back wins in the Ninja A-League Women, taking on Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 6 on Saturday. Read our Match Preview, presented by Red Bull Australia.
Match Details
Ninja A-League Women Round 6
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Western United
Saturday, 14 December
Kick-off: 4:50pm AEDT
CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live and free on 10 Play, and on Paramount+
Western United Team News
Western United is boosted by a massive return this weekend with captain Chloe Logarzo back in contention to play.
The Matildas star missed last week’s win over Sydney FC due to a concussion suffered on international duty but will take her place back in the squad to take on the Wanderers.
Catherine Zimmerman also returns to the 18-player extended squad as she looks to recover from a hamstring injury that ruled her out of last week’s game.
Western United squad: 1. Alyssa DALL’OSTE (gk), 2. Emily ROACH, 5. Aimee MEDWIN, 6. Chloe LOGARZO, 7. Kiara DE DOMIZIO, 8. Sasha GROVE, 9. Sara EGGESVIK, 10. Kahli JOHNSON, 11. Sandra IBARGUEN, 13. Avaani PRAKASH, 16. Melissa TARANTO, 18. Grace MAHER, 20. Keiwa HIEDA, 22. Alana CERNE, 24. Julia SARDO, 28. Isabel DEHAKIZ, 34. Catherine ZIMMERMAN, 36. Chloe LINCOLN (gk)
Last time out
Western United picked up its biggest result of the season so far, claiming a superb 2-1 win over Sydney FC last weekend.
Kahli Johnson gave the Green and Black the lead against her old side before Kiara De Domizio scored a dramatic late winner just seconds after coming on as a substitute.
Western Sydney tasted defeat against Melbourne City last time out, making it four defeats in a row without scoring a goal.
Previous Meetings
Western United had one of its most famous Ninja A-League wins against the Wanderers in 2023, winning 2-0 on the final day of the season to secure a top two finish.
Outside of that, the Wanderers have bene something of a bogey side for Western United. Despite Western Sydney not making finals in any of the last two seasons, they have got the better of the Green and Black in the other three meetings.
Hannah Keane had a fantastic record against Western Sydney with four goals in four games, so Kat Smith will be eager for a new hero to arise on Saturday.
Key Matchup: Avaani Prakash vs Talia Younis
This contest sees two of Australia’s biggest young talents in women’s football go head to head with United’s Avaani Prakash hoping to get the better of Talia Younis from the Wanderers.
Prakash made her first start of the season last week and just her fourth start in total since making her professional debut just over a year ago.
Getting through 71 minutes – her second-longest single-game appearance to date – Prakash sprinkled her quality across the final third, operating on the left-hand side and regularly looking to carve out openings for her teammates.
Younis, who last year became the competition’s youngest-ever player when she debuted as a 14-year-old, represented the Junior Matildas in the middle of the year and continues to grow her reputation in the game.
Featuring in all five of the Wanderers’ matches so far, Younis has become a regular in their side and will be hoping to impress once again.
Prakash and Younis will give onlookers an insight into the future and will both be looking to help their teams secure an important three points.
Western United Player to Watch: Chloe Logarzo
All eyes will be on Logarzo as she makes her return to the Green and Black and looks to pick up where she left off in the Ninja A-League.
Following her opening day brace, Logarzo has remained one of the league’s best players and proved herself back on the biggest stage with a fantastic performance with the Matildas before injury cruelly cut her day short.
The Western United captain will be ready to make up for lost time and bring her impact to the fore on Saturday.
