Head-to-head
Played 3: North Queensland Fury 2, Gold Coast United 1

Previous Meeting
North Queensland 2 Gold Coast 1, Dairy Farmers Stadium, Round 27, 2010-11

History
These two Queensland rivals, the new kids on the block in 2009, kicked off an immediate rivalry in Round 2 last season when Gold Coast announced themselves as a real force with a 5-0 drubbing of Fury. The North Queenslanders copped a media pasting after this but left to stew on the result, they responded with a 2-0 win over GCU just a few weeks later before getting the last laugh in the final round last season. Needing a win at Dairy Farmers Stadium to deliver a top-two finish, Gold Coast were on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss. That result saw them drop to third, missing the double chance as their debut season came to an end the week after at the hands of Newcastle.

Past five matches:
North Queensland: DLDLW
Gold Coast United: WDWDD

Match Committee
Not a whole lot to report on the Fury front as striker Dyron Daal returns from suspension to be the only inclusion in the side. Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg, meanwhile, has brought in three players to his extended squad, as Tahj Miniecon returns from a foot injury while midfielder Steve Fitzsimmons and defender Kristian Rees have also been promoted.

Danger men
North Queensland - The Gold Coasters have been talking up David Williams all week as Fury’s danger man and there's probably a good reason why. The speedy forward has been in top notch form, scoring a fantastic goal against Perth Glory a fortnight ago, while the man with the moppiest top of them all, also scored the last time these two sides played.

Gold Coast United - Gold Coast had a dead-set shocker against Melbourne Heart last week, although they still managed a fortunate 0-0 draw. That they kept a clean sheet was down to some absolute brilliance by goalkeeper Glen Moss, who had one of his best days at the office.

At the end of the day….
Poor old North Queensland can't seem to take a trick this week, so they'll be hoping Sunday night brings a change of fortunes. Fury were meant to play a midweek fixture against Newcastle on Wednesday night and were actually already in the air when the clash was cancelled due to EnergyAustralia Stadium's dodgy surface. Adding to this, they're still without a coach for Sunday's game as Franz Straka saw his one-week ban for making contact with the fourth official upheld, while Stuart McLaren has a week to serve on his two-match internal ban for mouthing off at a post-match press conference. Adding to this, FFA have blocked Mark Bosnich having a touchline role, but whether that's a good or bad thing for Fury is still debatable.

At the end of the day, though, all of this is a sideshow to this game as Fury look to win their second consecutive game and their third overall this season. North Queensland have a pretty potent attack, led by Williams, Chris Payne and Daal, who returns from suspension, while the midfield combo of skipper Ufuk Talay and Gareth Edds seems to be growing in confidence by the week. However, the attackers will need to pull out something special this week to break down United's back four, which is being superbly led by Michael Thwaite and Dino Djulbic. Heart attacked and attacked and attacked last week and couldn't find the back of the net, so North Queensland will have to find even more creative avenues to goal.

Gold Coast, though, may be sitting third on the table, but one suspects they're not travelling quite as well as seven unbeaten games suggests. Their forward combination of Bruce Djite, despite a goalscoring flourish a few weeks back, and Joel Porter is still finding its feet and as a result they may not be losing games, but they're certainly not winning as many as they should with the quality in their side. That being said, North Queensland have one of the leakiest defences in the league, conceding 17 goals in just 10 games, so now may be the right time for the GCU strikers to start working into form. The Fury boys may also be a little off mentally for this one having travelled to Sydney during the week only to turn around again. They're without their coach on the touchline as well, so things are stacked up against the North Queenslanders. But of all the teams in the comp Fury like beating, it's Gold Coast United they savour the most. Expect a ring-dinger, some monsoonal rain and maybe even the odd sight of a coach in a beige jacket dancing for delight up in the stands.

TEAMS: 
North Queensland Fury squad: 1. Justin PASFIELD (gk), 2. Jack HINGERT, 3. Brad McDONALD, 4. Eric AKOTO, 5. Mark HUGHES, 6. Ufuk TALAY (c), 7. Gareth EDDS, 9. Eugene SSEPPUYA, 10. Dyron DAAL, 11. David WILLIAMS, 13. Andre KILIAN, 14. Chris GROSSMAN, 15. Chris PAYNE, 16. Simon STOREY, 17. Osama MALIK, 28. Sebastian USAI (gk) *one to be omitted*

In: Dyron DAAL (back from one match suspension)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Isaka CERNAK (knee – 1 week), Matthew HAM (knee – out for the season)

Gold Coast United Squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Steve PANTELIDIS, 3.Michael THWAITE, 5.ROBSON, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 10.Jason CULINA (c), 11.Bruce DJITE, 13.Bas VAN DEN BRINK, 14.Joel PORTER, 15.Tahj MINNIECON, 16.Kristian REES, 18.James BROWN, 20.Scott HIGGINS (gk), 21.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 22.Adama TRAORE, 23.Steve FITZSIMMONS, 24.John CURTIS.
*three to be omitted*

In: Tahj MINNIECON (return from foot injury), Kristian REES (promoted), Steve FITZSIMMONS (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Daniel Piorkowski (ankle injury – 4 weeks), Matt Osman (knee injury – indefinite)