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Western United will celebrate its partnership with Foodbank Victoria with Food Relief Round against Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday, with a big three points on the line.
Match Details
Western United vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Sunday, 20 February
Kick-off: 6:45pm AEDT
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+
Donate to Foodbank Victoria here to go in the running to win up to $10,000 in the half-time Kick to Win competition. Terms and conditions apply.
Form Guide
Western United: LWDWD
Western Sydney Wanderers: LWLLW
Western United is on its second four-match unbeaten run of the season and can set a club record by extending that run to five matches on Sunday.
John Aloisi’s side was ultimately unfortunate not to beat Sydney FC in an entertaining 1-1 draw last time out but have the boost of having beaten the Wanderers just two weeks ago.
Western Sydney have had a mixed run of form since Mark Rudan took over with two wins and two defeats, but they will be buoyed by their last triumph against Melbourne Victory on Wednesday night.
That was only the third win of the Wanderers’ season, but such is the tightness of the league they are only three points outside of the top six and will hope to spoil United’s run.
Previous Meetings
As mentioned, the analytics departments from both sides don’t have to search too deep in the archives to find film from the last meeting with just 15 days between matches.
Aleksandar Prijovic’s first-half strike earned Western United a valuable win on that occasion, ending a long-standing winless run in interstate away matches.
That result exacted revenge on the Wanderers for a 5-0 result towards the end of last season, and it also places United ahead in the head-to-head battle with three wins.
Western Sydney have beaten the Green and Black twice, while there was a 1-1 draw between the two sides in their second meeting in December 2019.
Team News
Aloisi should once again be able to call upon a full compliment of players, though there could be a couple of changes with a clash against Sydney FC right around the corner on Wednesday.
A number of fringe players had the chance to gain valuable minutes in NPL friendlies over the past week and could make themselves available for selection.
There are two milestones in waiting as well, with Lachie Wales in line for his 100th A-League Men match and Steven Lustica set for game number 150 in the competition if they are both selected.
What John Aloisi is saying
On returning home after three away matches in a row
“Every game is important, whether we’re home or away. The surroundings of home always feel better for the players, you feel more comfortable.
“We were happy with our performances away from home. It was a good week considering the amount of games we’ve had to play recently, and now we have another big week coming up.”
On playing Western Sydney again so soon after the last meeting
“I think there’ll be a bit of change compared to the way we played against them last time. I expect it to be very similar to the way they played against [Melbourne] Victory.
“We’ve analysed that game, we’ve analysed their previous games and that game we played against them. We know that it will be tough no matter what. No different to how we played against them last time, because that was a tough game but we managed to get out on top in that one.”
