The main focus will be on Sydney though with manager Branko Culina under huge pressure to get a result and record their first win of the season.

Speculation continues on Culina's future after a dismal start and last week's loss at home to then-bottom of the league Wellington Phoenix, despite almost a full-strength squad.

They'll have their work cut out against Queensland Roar though, and Sydney will only have Roar's appalling home record going in their favour.

Melbourne Victory are also coming under increasing pressure to recapture last season's winning form. They may be unbeaten - but that's not good enough when you're the defending champions.

They face Newcastle Jets away and will be wary of giving away anything near the box after the Jets claimed their last two wins from set-pieces.

But the Jets will be motivated in front of their home crowd - a win tonight will see them move into top spot, at least until Sunday.

The Mariners will be aiming to protect that first place though when they meet a mis-firing Perth Glory at home. If the Jets fail to beat Victory, the Mariners can stretch their lead at the top and consolidate their position.

Meanwhile Adelaide and Phoenix will be battling it out to stay mid-table and keep in contention for a finals slot.


Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory
Friday, 21 September 2007
Kick-Off 8:00pm AEST (10:00pm NZST, 7:30pm ACST, 6:00pm AWST)
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Radio: ABC 1233 Newcastle (1233AM) – www.abc.net.au/newcastle; SEN1116 (Melbourne) 1116am - www.sen.com.au

Victory need to win this - or at least hope Sydney lose - or else they too could find themselves coming under the same kind of scrutiny Sydney have been suffering this week.

Now into the fifth round, the reigning champs are still looking for their first win - and to be honest, it's not looked like it's coming just yet.

Last season's goal hero Danny Allsopp is out for a week with sore ribs, Ljubo's still out for another fortnight with his knacked knee - but the good news is the return to the squad of former Chelsea starlet Joe Keenan, although he may only be on the bench.

The disappointing El Zorro - Carlos Hernandez - may make way in the starting line-up for Leandro Love or Kaz Patafta as Victory look for goals.

But the Jets have shown they can tame anyone...and their marquee star striker Mario Jardel might just be fit enough to play from the start this week.

They have a full strength side bar just the injured Steve Eagleton - and a cracker of a match could be in store.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick will become the second person to coach 50 Hyundai A-League matches, following Lawrie McKinna's 50th league match in charge of the Mariners last weekend. Merrick, the reigning Hyundai A-League coach of the year, has a W-D-L record of 23-13-13, which of course included victory in the Hyundai A-League 2007 Grand Final. Incidentally the biggest defeat suffered by Merrick in these 49 matches to date occurred the last time he visited EnergyAustralia Stadium, when Melbourne went down 4-0 to the Jets.

Newcastle Jets Squad
1.Ante Covic (gk), 2.Adam Griffiths, 3.Jade North, 5.Stuart Musialik, 6 Andrew Durante, 8.Matt Thompson, 9.Joel Griffiths, 10.Denni Rocha Dos Santos , 11.Tarek Elrich, 12.Paul Kohler, 13.Adam D’apuzzo, 14.Jobe Wheelhouse, 17.Troy Hearfield, 19.Mark Bridge, 20.Ben Kennedy (gk), 21.Mario Jardel, 23.Jason Hoffman, 27.Stephen Laybutt. *Three To Be Omitted

In: Troy Hearfield (Promoted)

Out: Steve Eagleton (Injured), Jorge Drovandi (Not selected), Scott Tunbridge (Not selected), Noel Spencer (Not selected), Ben Mcnamara (gk) (Not selected)

Unavailable: Steve Eagleton (Injured)

Melbourne Victory squad
1.Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2.Kevin Muscat (c), 3.Daniel Piorkowski, 6.Steve Pantelidis, 7.Matthew Kemp, 8.Grant Brebner, 10.Archie Thompson, 11.Joseph Keenan, 12.Rodrigo Vargas, 14.Adrian Caceres, 15.Leandro Love, 16.Carlos Hernandez, 18.Leigh Broxham, 20.Eugene Galekovic, 21.Sebastian Ryall.

In: Joseph Keenan (Returns from injury)

Out: Danny Allsopp (Ribs – 1 week)

Unavailable: Ljubo Milicevic (Knee - 2 weeks)



Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Kick-Off 7:00pm NZST ( 5:00pm AEST, 4:30pm ACST, 3:00pm AWST)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
Radio: The Radio Network (www.radionetwork.co.nz) 1035 AM Wellington www.radionetwork.co.nz; Fresh FM (Adelaide) 92.7FM www.freshfm.com.au

Phoenix finally got their breakthrough debut win in the A-League last week against Sydney - and will be hoping it will be the start of something big for them.

That win was long overdue after weeks of playing attractive and brave football...and this week they could be bolstered with the addition of new marquee signing, Socceroo Ahmad Elrich.

They now have an impressive squad and although they still find themselves lacking when it comes to finishing, they are not a side to be taken lightly.

Expect a big crowd for this match and possibly yet another New Zealand record.

Adelaide though will be wanting to make up for last week's loss to Newcastle. Nathan Burns is back in the squad and will be wanting to keep up his impressive record in front of goal this season.

United coach Aurelio Vidmar has rued his team’s missed opportunities in the past two games, especially in the first half against the Newcastle Jets last weekend, and believes the players in the attacking third need to start putting more shots on target for United to get the right result.

“When you’ve got 34 entries into their penalty area and we only hit the target on four or five occasions we’re not effective enough so we’ve worked a bit on that and really need to get our percentages up higher,” Vidmar said.

“We have to be more ruthless. When you get into those areas, you have to put the ball away. I think we’ve got a really good offensive line and it is up to the four or five in that area to score the goals for us.”

Despite a few key injuries, Adelaide have a strong squad to choose from for the game and this could be a very tight game.

It will also see Ross Aloisi line up against his old club. “He’s an ex Adelaide United player, that’s fair enough," said Vidmar.

"He’s moved to another club but we’re playing against 11 Wellington Phoenix players and that’s how we’ll be looking at it.”

The match also sees United's former New Zealand Knight Jonas Salley facing a Kiwi club - and Vidmar's not taking the task lightly.

“They’ve done alright, it was a great win in Sydney last week so they’ll be fired up and to me they look like an extremely fit side,” Vidmar added.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
With another large crowd expected for Wellington's third home match of the season, the aggregate home crowd for the Phoenix should already surpass the aggregate crowd that watched all of the New Zealand Knights' 11 home matches of the Hyundai A-League 2006/07 season (34,016), and perhaps even top the Knights' aggregate crowd recorded in 2005/06 (39,086). A total of 25,291 people watched Wellington's first two home matches this season, meaning that an attendance of 8,096 against Adelaide would see the Phoenix bypass the Knights' 2006/07 season tally, while a 13,166 attendance would beat the Knights' 2005/06 total season aggregate.

Wellington Phoenix Squad
1.Mark Paston (gk), 2.Jeremy Christie, 3.Tony Lochhead, 4.Cleberson, 5.Karl Dodd, 6.Tim Brown, 7.Ross Aloisi (c), 8.Vaughan Coveny, 9.Shane Smeltz, 10.Michael Ferrante, 11.Daniel, 12.Richard Johnson, 13.Steven Old, 14.Steven O’dor, 15.George Paladini, 20.Glen Moss (gk), 21.Felipe Campos, 22.Royce Brownlie. *Three To Be Omitted

In: Cleberson (Promoted), Royce Brownlie (Promoted), Tim Brown (Return From Illness)

Out: None

Unavailable: Vince Lia (Thigh – 1 Week), Jacob Spoonley (Gk, Omitted), Greg Draper (Omitted), Costa Barbarouses (Omitted)

Adelaide United Squad
1. Daniel Beltrame, (gk), 2.Richie Alagich, 4.Angelo Costanzo, 6.Cassio, 7.Lucas Pantelis, 8. Kristian Sarkies, 9.Paul Agostino (c), 10.Nathan Burns, 11.Bruce Djite, 13.Travis Dodd, 15.Jonas Salley, 17.Isyan Erdogan, 18.Robert Cornthwaite, 20. Robert Bajic (gk), 21. Jason Spagnuolo, 22. Diego.* One To Be Omitted

In: Nathan Burns (Returns From Injury)

Out: Nil

Unavailable: Dez Giraldi (Quad – 2 Weeks), Milan Susak (Hamstring – 1 Week), Bobby Petta (Calf – 2 Weeks)



Queensland Roar v Sydney FC
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Kick-Off 7.00pm AEST (9:00pm NZST, 6:30pm ACST, 5:00pm AWST)
Suncorp Stadium, Queensland

What hope Sydney? Last week was supposedly as good a side as they could muster with the exception of injured marquee star Juninho, playing at home against supposedly the worst team in the league...and they still lost.

This week they face Queensland Roar, fresh off their win away from home against Perth Glory last week and knowing this could be their best chance of beating their home stadium hoodoo.

Sydney this week tried to solve their goal-scoring woes by offering clubless Socceroo John Aloisi a short-term contract to help get them off the mark - but that deal fell through once again.

Culina will need all his motivational skills to bring the best out of his squad for this match. The pressure's building, the club's failing and it's hard to see any easy answer.

They'll be without Juninho once again and big-name defender Tony Popovic is also out for the game. Fans may have to wait yet another week to see their side win.

Roar however have a near full-strength side, loaded with talent and experience. Their problems in front of goal seemed to have improved last week but they'll need to repeat that this week if they're to walk away with the three points.

You can guarantee they'll love nothing more than to pile on yet more misery to their interstate rivals though, especially in front of a home crowd.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina will take charge of his 100th match at national league level. Farina commenced his coaching career at former NSL club Brisbane Strikers in October 1996, and tallied 86 matches as coach in the old NSL (Brisbane, Marconi) before embarking on his stint as Qantas Socceroos coach (1999-2005). He took the helm at the Roar part-way through the Hyundai A-League 2006/07 season, racking up nine matches in charge of the club that season. Farina holds the record for coaching the Socceroos in most A internationals, 58.

Queensland Roar Squad
1.Liam Reddy (gk), 4.Craig Moore, 5.Josh Mccloughan, 7.Michael Zullo, 8.Massimo Murdocca, 9.Simon Lynch, 10.Ante Milicic, 11.Reinaldo, 14.Ben Griffin, 15.Matt Mckay, 16.Hyuk-Su Seo, 17.Mitch Nichols, 18.Danny Tiatto,19. Sasa Ognenovski, 23.Marcinho, 30.Griffin Mcmaster (gk). *One To Be Omitted

In: Massimo Murdocca (Return From Thigh Injury).

Out: None

Unavailable: Matt Ham (Shoulder Injury – Out For Season), Andrew Packer (Calf Injury – 3 Weeks).

Sydney FC Squad
1.Clint Bolton (gk), 2.Iain Fyfe, 4.Mark Rudan, 8.Ruben Zadkovich, 9.David Zdrilic, 10.Steve Corica, 11.Brendon Santalab, 12.Patrick, 14.Alex Brosque, 15.Terry McFlynn, 16.Mark Milligan, 18.Adam Casey, 21.Adam Biddle, 23.Ufuk Talay, 30.Matthew Nash (gk).

In: Terry McFlynn (Promoted), Adam Biddle (Promoted).

Out: Tony Popovic (Calf - 1 Week), Robbie Middleby (Quad - Awaiting Scans).

Unavailable: Nikolas Tsattalios (Omitted), Ben Vidaic (Omitted), Jacob Timpano (Thigh - 2-3 Weeks), Michael Enfield (Knee - Awaiting Scans), Ivan Necevski (Ankle - 2-3 Weeks), Juninho (Shoulder - 1-2 Weeks).



Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Kick-Off 5:00 pm AEST (7:00pm NZST, 4:30pm ACST, 3:00pm AWST)
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Radio: Coast FM 96.3FM (Central Coast) - www.coastfm.org.au; 6PR 882AM (Perth) www.mytalk.com.au; SportFM (Perth); 90.5FM www.905.com.au;

Perth Glory have tried to make a season out of shutting out the opposition while they wait for their striker partnership to blossom upfront.

It's been painful to watch and finally came unstuck last week. Ron Smith gave in to fans and gave former skipper Jamie Harnwell a start...and he immediately scored their first goal of the season.

But for once the defence couldn't keep its fourth clean sheet and Queensland Roar finally found their shooting boots, putting two past them to claim their first win.

Now they face Central Coast Mariners who are without Sasho Petrovski and Nik Mrdja - but still boasting Adam Kwasnik and new stand-in striker Damien Mori.

It's enough to put fear into any defence's heart - Kwasnik has been in lethal form this season, and Mori's devasting track record is written in the history books.

He also has a great history with the Mariners, turning around their season last year with six goals in eight matches for them. The only cloud in the Mariners' sky is Tony Vidmar's suspension for this match after last week's late red card.

Playing at home, with the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the table and yet to concede a single goal, the Mariners will be Glory-seeking in every sense this Sunday.

Perth may wish they had never made the five hour air flight east for this match.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Yet to concede a goal so far this season, the Central Coast Mariners will be aiming to equal the Australian national league record for most number of matches at the start of the season without conceding a goal: five. In 28 seasons of the old NSL, the longest start to the season without conceding was five matches, set by Preston in the 1986 season.

Central Coast Mariners Squad
1.Matthew Trott (gk), 2.Matt Simon, 5.Bradley Porter, 6.Andre Gumprecht, 7.John Hutchinson, 8.Dean Heffernan, 10.Tom Pondeljak, 11.Damien Brown, 12.Greg Owens, 15.Andrew Clark, 16.Nigel Boogaard, 17.Matthew Osman, 19.Adam Kwasnik, 20.Danny Vukovic (gk), 22.Sasho Petrovski, 23.Mile Jedinak. *One To Be Omitted
In: Matthew Trott (Returns From Injury), Matt Simon (Promoted), Greg Owens (Returns From Injury)

Out: Tony Vidmar (Suspended), Andrew Redmayne (Omitted)

Unavailable: Nik Mrdja (Knee – Indefinite), Tony Vidmar (Suspended – 1 Week), Alex Wilkinson (Knee – Indefinite)

Perth Glory Squad
50.Tommi Tomich (gk), 2.Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 4.Simon Colosimo, 5.Jamie Harnwell, 6.Dino Djulbic, 7.Anthony Danze, 8.David Micevski, 9.Mate Dragicevic, 12.Leo Bertos, 13.Nikita Rukavytsya, 14.Jamie Coyne, 15.Mitchell Prentice, 16.Nick Rizzo, 17.Jimmy Downey, 19.Naum Sekulovski, 21.James Robinson, 25. Tyler Simpson, 30.Tando Velaphi *Three To Be Omitted

In: David Micevski (Promoted), Leo Bertos (Return From Injury), Mitchell Prentice (Promoted), Nick Rizzo (Promoted)

Out: Billy Celeski (Not Selected)

Unavailable: David Tarka (Hamstring – Season), Jason Petkovic (Leg – 6 Weeks), Stan Lazaridis, Hayden Foxe (Knee – 6 Weeks)