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Western United will go in search of a club record fourth consecutive win in the A-League Men when Adelaide United come to AAMI Park on Friday night.
Match Details
Western United vs Adelaide United
Friday, 17 December
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEDT
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: The match will be shown live on Paramount+
Western United has won three matches on the spin for the third time in the Club’s history, but never before has the Green and Black made the jump to four.
John Aloisi’s side has started the season in form, particularly defensively with a league best one goal conceded and none from open play across the first four fixtures.
Adelaide has yet to win a game so far this season, but equally has only lost once after three successive draws to begin the season.
A defeat against Melbourne Victory last time out will leave the Reds searching for a response in what has historically been a fiery fixture between the two sides.
This match will also see Aloisi go up against his brother Ross, who is an assistant coach at Adelaide having spent two separate spells at the Reds as a player.
Previous Meetings
Western United’s meetings with Adelaide United have been all-action affairs so far, with four matches between the two sides seeing a level head-to-head record.
The opening fixture between the two sides was a 4-3 thriller which Adelaide stole late on at Whitten Oval, but Western got its revenge weeks later with a 5-1 thumping on Adelaide’s turf.
The subsequent two fixtures have both been 0-0 draws, but the last one had plenty of drama with a red card for each side, a controversially disallowed goal for Dylan Pierias and plenty of chances at either end.
Team News
Aloisi has confirmed that centre-back Leo Lacroix is back in contention for selection after missing last week’s win over Brisbane with a knock to his knee.
The boss will have to make a late decision on the fitness of Aleksandar Prijovic, though, as he recovers from a minor hamstring injury, while Rene Krhin remains sidelined but is nearing a return.
What John Aloisi is saying
On the threat posed by Adelaide United
“They’re a good side, a really good side. They’ve got good individuals with experience, and then they’ve also got good coaches.
“They’re a dangerous team to play against. People think, because they haven’t won, they’re not doing well. But I’ve watched every game of theirs, and they’ve been unlucky not to win.
“They create a lot of chances, they get numbers into the box a lot, so we have to be aware of our defensive structures and what we can do to stop them creating those chances.”
On the balance between confidence and complacency
“The group is very happy, of course, with the results, but also knowing that we can improve a lot more and that we will improve the more we play together.
“The confidence is there, but they’re still working and making sure they’re putting in each day in training, trying to improve not only as a team, but individually.
“That’s always a pleasing thing, because you don’t want, just because you’re getting results, that people become complacent. This group isn’t, they want to keep getting better and know that we can get a lot better.”
