Look, we know we're probably going back into draw territories for the showpiece matches of Sydney vs Victory and Jets vs Mariners, but indulge us, okay??

Seriously though, we're potentially looking at the spectacle of the season in these two matches.

It's early enough in the season that the results will still be vital - no-one has yet broken away from the pack so far that they are uncatchable as Victory pretty much were at this stage last year.

But we're far enough into the season that these matches are not only vital, but all the teams playing have big, BIG points to prove.

Sydney are coming off their back to back wins. Doubts remain about their long-term viability, but this would be the perfect opportunity to put them to rest.

Melbourne have only just notched up their first win of the season. A win against Sydney is always a morale-booster - even if they have been playing poorly - and will keep them firmly in touch with the top two.

For the Jets, it's a chance to close in on the Mariners at the top, and a real test for the Mariners for the first time this season against the only team to show a hint of Central Coast's form so far.

All the rest have plenty to play for too - Perth have pride at stake, Adelaide's defence can prove itself, Roar want to beat their home game hoodoo and Phoenix want to keep up their current momentum.

Every one of these games has the potential to be a cracker...


Queensland Roar v Wellington Phoenix
Friday, 5 October 2007
Kick-Off 8:00pm AEST (11:00pm NZDT, 7:30pm ACST, 6:00pm AWST)
Suncorp Stadium, Queensland

Previous meetings: None

Phoenix got their first win at home last week but no sooner is the ball rolling for them than Daniel gets hit with a one match ban for collecting four yellows.

He'll be sorely missed by the Kiwis with his playmaking just behind and on either wing of Coveny and Smeltz proving a key part of the win against Perth.

But they still have Felipe who always looks dangerous, even if his bark can sometimes be worse than his bite. New marquee signing Elrich is still settling into the side and missing from the squad.

As for Queensland Roar, they're playing at Suncorp and we all know what that means...

Rather than just give Phoenix all three points right now though, coach Frank Farina is rejigging his frontline (at last) with likely starts for Zullo and Kruse.

Their home game hoodoo can't last forever and this could be the week they break it.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Queensland will be looking to overcome one of the poorest home records in the A-League. With just five wins in its 24 matches to date, the Roar's all-time rate of home wins (21 percent) stands as the lowest of all current teams in the Hyundai A-League, with Perth Glory (25 percent home wins) the next lowest. Queensland will also be attempting to bump up their home goals record - with 24 goals in its 24 games to date, the Roar have by far the lowest home goals per game ratio, the next lowest being Perth Glory (1.3 goals per home game).

Queensland Roar
Form - DDLWLL

Squad 1.Liam REDDY (gk), 4.Craig MOORE (Captain), 5.Josh McCLOUGHAN, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 9.Simon LYNCH, 11.REINALDO, 14.Ben GRIFFIN, 15.Matt McKAY, 16.Hyuk-Su SEO, 18.Danny TIATTO,19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 21.Chris GROSSMAN, 22.Robbie KRUSE, 23.MARCINHO, 30.Griffin McMASTER (gk). *one to be omitted

In: Chris Grossman (promoted), Robbie Kruse (promoted).

Out: Ante Milicic (groin injury – 3 weeks).

Unavailable: Packer (calf injury – 1 week), Matt Ham (shoulder injury – out for season).

Wellington Phoenix
Form - DLLWDW

Squad 1.Mark PASTON (gk), 2.Jeremy CHRISTIE, 3.Tony LOCHHEAD, 5.Karl DODD, 6.Tim BROWN, 7.Ross ALOISI (captain), 8.Vaughan COVENY, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Michael FERRANTE, 12.Richard JOHNSON, 13.Steven OLD, 14.Steven O’DOR, 15.George PALADINI, 20.Glen MOSS (gk), 21.Felipe CAMPOS, 22.Royce BROWNLIE. *one to be omitted

In: None

Out: Daniel (suspended – 1 week)

Unavailable: Vince Lia (thigh – 1 week)


Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
Saturday, 6 October 2007
Kick-Off 7:00pm AEST (10:00pm NZDT, 6:30pm ACST, 5:00pm)
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Radio: SEN1116 (Melbourne) 1116am - www.sen.com.au

Previous meetings: Sydney 1, Victory 3, Drawn 2

So neither team has set the A-League on fire this season...but the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne is always going to guarantee this match will be a blockbuster.

Steve Corica's added fuel to that rivalry this week by insisting his team are going out to avenge last weekend's success for Melbourne over Manly in the NRL grand final.

Melbourne are claiming to be the sporting capital of the country as Victoria now holds the AFL, NRL and A-League trophies. Corica wants to reclaim a little bit of harbourside pride with a win on Saturday night.

Coach Branko Culina isn't giving much away about his starting line-up, basically including everyone in his squad that's capable of walking, but a frontline attack of Brosque backed up by Juninho looks likely. Popa's back for the defence and named skipper again so he looks likely to start too.

Melbourne have been quite low-key about this match and are keeping all their options open too, bringing everyone except the still-injured Ljubo up to Sydney for the game.

Merrick wants to see his attack take more risks in this game, and skipper Kevin Muscat is eyeing up a tasty confrontation with Juninho in the tie.

Almost as important as the result however will be the crowd figure at Sydney Football Stadium. Victory can pull in 25k even when they're playing below par.

With weather tipped to be fine, a Saturday night match, no NRL or AFL on, and everything to play for on the pitch, there's no excuse for a poor crowd.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
With an aggregate attendance of 484,465 watching Sydney's 28 home matches in the A-League to date, Sydney FC will be aiming to attract its 500,000 home spectator in its confrontation with Melbourne Victory. To achieve the half-million milestone, Sydney needs a crowd of at least 15,535 for this weekend's blockbuster Hyundai A-League match at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Sydney FC
Form - LDDLWW

Squad 1.Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Iain FYFE, 3.Nikolas TSATTALIOS, 4.Mark RUDAN, 6.Tony POPOVIC (captain), 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH, 9.David ZDRILIC, 10.Steve CORICA, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 12.PATRICK, 13.Ben VIDAIC, 14.Alex BROSQUE, 15.Terry McFLYNN, 16.Mark MILLIGAN, 18.Adam CASEY, 21.Adam BIDDLE, 22.JUNINHO, 23.Ufuk TALAY, 30.Matthew NASH (gk).*four to be omitted

In: Nikolas Tsattalios (promoted), David Zdrilic (promoted), Ben Vidaic (promoted), Adam Biddle (promoted).

Out: None

Unavailable: Robbie Middleby (quad - 2-3 weeks), Jacob Timpano (thigh - 1-2 weeks), Michael Enfield (knee - indefinite), Ivan Necevski (gk) (ankle - 1-2 weeks).

Melbourne Victory
Form - DDDDDW

Squad 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain), 3.Daniel PIORKOWSKI, 6.Steve PANTELIDIS, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Joseph KEENAN, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 14.Adrian CACERES, 15.Leandro LOVE, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 18.Leigh BROXHAM, 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 21.Sebastian RYALL *One to be omitted

In: Matthew KEMP (return from injury)

Out: Nil

Unavailable: Ljubo MILICEVIC (knee – 1 week)


Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Sunday, 7 October 2007
Kick-Off 5:00pm AEST (8:00pm NZDT, 4:30pm ACST, 3:00pm AWST)
Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Radio: Coast FM 96.3FM (Central Coast) - www.coastfm.org.au; ABC 1233 Newcastle (1233AM) – www.abc.net.au/newcastle

Previous meetings Mariners 2, Jets 3, Draws 3

Just two things could make this match better - Nik Mrdja not being injured and Tony Vidmar not being suspended.

It is the battle of the current A-League titans, the F3 derby and the tightest match-up this season.

The Mariners have lost a little bit of the shine they showed at the beginning of this season, but make no mistake, they're still the best side in Australia at the moment.

The Jets are a worthy second-place though - and this is their chance to prove they are the real deal by dishing out back-to-back defeats for the home side.

While the Mariners are missing Vidmar and Mrdja, the Jets are back to full strength after Musialik's suspension and Joel Griffiths recovered from last week's pre-match injury.

This should be a cracker of a match.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Central Coast striker Sasho Petrovski will make his 50th Hyundai A-League appearance. Petrovski played two seasons for Sydney FC before transferring to the Mariners in the 2007 off-season. Having scored 17 goals in his 49 appearances to date, Petrovski is one of a select group of players to have scored more than one goal per three appearances in the Hyundai A-League.

Central Coast Mariners
Form - WWWDWL

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, 24. Damian MORI *two to be omitted

In: . Matt SIMON (Promoted), 12. Greg OWENS (Promoted), 17. Matthew OSMAN (Returns from Injury)

Out: Tony VIDMAR (Suspended – 2 weeks)

Unavailable: 9. Nik MRDJA (Knee – Indefinite), 13. Tony VIDMAR (Suspended – 2 weeks), 18. Alex WILKINSON (Knee – Indefinite)

Newcastle Jets Squad
Form - DDWWDL

Squad 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Adam GRIFFITHS, 3.Jade NORTH, 5.Stuart MUSIALIK, 8.Matt THOMPSON, 9.Joel GRIFFITHS, 10.Denni, 11.Tarek ELRICH, 12.Paul KOHLER, 13.Adam D’APUZZO, 14.Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 17.Troy HEARFIELD, 18.Noel SPENCER, 19.Mark BRIDGE, 20.Ben KENNEDY (GK), 21.Mario JARDEL, 23.Jason HOFFMAN, 27.Stephen LAYBUTT *three To Be omitted

In: Joel Griffiths (return from injury), Stuart Musialik (return from Suspension), Noel Spencer (promoted)

Out: Nil

Unavailable: Steve EAGLETON (injured), Andrew DURANTE (Injury)


Perth Glory v Adelaide United
Sunday, 7 October 2007
Kick-Off 5:00pm AWST (10:00pm NZDT, 7:00pm AEST, 6:30pm ACST )
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Radio: 6PR 882AM (Perth) www.mytalk.com.au; SportFM (Perth); 90.5FM www.905.com.au; Fresh FM (Adelaide) 92.7FM www.freshfm.com.au

Previous meetings Glory 1, Adelaide 4, Draw 1

It's hard to bring ourselves to actually waste time writing a preview for this but let's face it, Perth don't stand a chance.

They only won once out of six previous match-ups when they were playing well. Now they're playing like crap, they stand even less chance than a toddler pulling the tail of cranky pit bull terrier.

Adelaide have the finest strike force in the A-League in Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite - and they're both lined up to destroy Perth this weekend.

Nick Rizzo's been called up to return to Perth, Jamie Harnwell's back in the squad again as is Billy Celeski so at least there's a half chance of them scoring.

But if the United defence can stand even slightly firm, this could be a slaughter. Entertaining for neutrals and Adelaide fans...but ugly as hell for the Glory boys.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Adelaide United will be looking to break the A-League's all-time record for playing the longest without receiving a caution or red card: 283 minutes. The last card issued to an Adelaide United player (Isyan Erdogan) was in the 49th minute of their Round 4 match against Newcastle, meaning that should Adelaide United reach the 63rd minute of their Round 7 match against Perth (284 minutes since their previous card) they will break the record. The current record of time played by a club without receiving a card (283 minutes) is held by the Central Coast Mariners, whose players went from the 93rd minute of their Round 6 match until the 12th minute of their Round 10 match in the A-League 2006/07 season without receiving a yellow or red card.

Perth Glory
Form - DDDLLL

Squad 50.Tommi TOMICH (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 7.Anthony DANZE, 8.David MICEVSKI, 9.Mate DRAGICEVIC, 10.Billy CELESKI, 12.Leo BERTOS, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Jamie COYNE, 16.Nick RIZZO, 17.Jimmy DOWNEY, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21.James ROBINSON, 24.Jordan SIMPSON, 25. Tyler SIMPSON, 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk) *three to be omitted

In: Dino DJULBIC (suspension – 1 week), Mitchell PRENTICE (quadriceps – 1 week)

Out: Dino DJULBIC (suspension – 1 week), Mitchell PRENTICE (quadriceps – 1 week)

Unavailable: David TARKA (hamstring – season), Jason PETKOVIC (leg – 4 weeks), Stan LAZARIDIS, Hayden FOXE (knee – 4 weeks)

Adelaide United
Form - DDDLDW

Squad 1.Daniel BELTRAME, (gk), 2.Richie ALAGICH, 4.Angelo COSTANZO, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Kristian SARKIES, 9.Paul AGOSTINO (Captain), 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: Milan Susak (promoted)

Out: None

Unavailable: Paul Agostino (calf – 1 week), Bobby Petta (calf – 1 week)

A-League Ladder Going Into Round Seven