Western United A-League Men squad: Round 8 vs Western Sydney

John Aloisi has named his extended squad for Western United’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men Round 8 clash against Western Sydney Wanderers, with a number of key players returning to the fold.

After missing last weekend’s trip to Perth with illness, Alessandro Diamanti, Ben Garuccio and Tomoki Imai are all available for selection, the latter aiming to make his first appearance since Round 1.

The inclusions of Imai and Garuccio at the back are timely ones for Aloisi, who will be without Josh Risdon and Leo Lacroix due to suspension.

Sebastian Pasquali also comes into the 20-man squad and will compete with the likes of Rhys Bozinovski and Tongo Doumbia for midfield opportunities, with Steven Lustica remaining absent.

Doumbia made his return from a hamstring injury against Perth Glory on Saturday with a half-hour cameo off the bench. The Malian will hope to increase his workload this weekend, while Bozinovski will be competing for a third successive start in the middle of the pitch.

Western United will be eager to bounce back from defeat in Western Australia with a win in its first home match after the FIFA World Cup break.

Western United squad

Western United squad: 1. Jamie YOUNG (gk), 5. Dylan PIERIAS, 6. Tomoki IMAI, 7. Tongo DOUMBIA, 8. Lachlan WALES, 9. Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 11. Connor PAIN, 14. James TROISI, 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 21. Sebastian PASQUALI, 23. Alessandro DIAMANTI (c), 26. Nicolas MILANOVIC, 27. Jacob TRATT, 33. Ben COLLINS, 37. Ryan SCOTT (gk), 38. Noah BOTIC, 42. Rhys BOZINOVSKI, 44. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 88. Neil KILKENNY, 99. Aleksandar PRIJOVIC

Ins: 6. Tomoki IMAI (returns from illness), 17. Ben GARUCCIO (returns from illness), 21. Sebastian PASQUALI (promoted), 23. Alessandro DIAMANTI (returns from illness)

Outs: 4. Leo LACROIX (suspended), 19. Josh RISDON (suspended)

Unavailable: 10. Steven LUSTICA (injured)