Played
January 6, 2013 6:00 PM EST
Parramatta Stadium — Parramatta
Referee:‬ C. Beath‎
Attendance:‬ 16387‎
 
 
Daniel McBreen 42′
 
Daniel McBreen 90′

A-League preview: Western Sydney Wanderers v Central Coast Mariners

In what is the match of the round, the Mariners face a tough test when they travel to Parramatta Stadium to face the in-form Wanderers

More On :  Central Coast Mariners, Western Sydney Wanderers, Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners
Mile Sterjovski - Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers
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GOAL.com Indonesia   By GOAL.COM
  PROBABLE LINEUP
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Covic
Polenz, Topor-Stanley, La Rocca, Cole
Trifiro, Ono, Poljak, Mooy
Gibbs, Bridge

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS

 Ryan
Bojic, Sainsbury, Anderson, Rose
Bozanic, Montgomery, Hutchinson McGlinchey, McBreen, Sterjovski
Back in October, when these teams played out a 0-0 draw in the first week of the new season, who would have thought come 2013 they would be facing off in what is probably the match of the round?

Once again, the Mariners are leading the way at the top of the A-League table, two points ahead of second-placed Adelaide.

But they face a tough task on Sunday as they travel to Parramatta to take on the competition's surprise packets, with the Wanderers just seven points off the top in third.

Both clubs also head into this encounter buoyed by hard-fought wins in games many thought they would struggle in over the New Year period.

For the Wanderers, the pundits believed the in-form Melbourne Victory were a good thing to break down Western Sydney's resolute defence.

But Tony Popovic's side produced a solid 2-1 victory over Melbourne via a brilliant two goals from Shinji Ono.

Popovic regards Aaron Mooy from suspension, and he will likely replace Youssouf Hersi - to miss for the same reason - in midfield.  Captain Michael Beauchamp is also suspended, while striker Dino Kresinger has a knee complaint.

Iacopo La Rocca is likely to move into defence to replace Beauchamp, with Jason Trifiro a chance to replace him in midfield and Labinot Haliti or Joey Gibbs favourite to come in for Kresinger.

Central Coast, meanwhile, maintained their historical dominance over Perth Glory in a 1-0 win on New Year's Eve.

The Mariners were expected to struggle as they headed into that encounter without key players Tomas Rogic, John Hutchinson, Daniel McBreen [all suspension] and Patrick Zwaanswijk [groin], but Graham Arnold's undermanned side showed their fighting spirit as they battled to a 1-0 win.

It was hardly classic stuff from the Mariners and Bernie Ibini's goal was fairly dubious, but Central Coast still found a way to win with a second-string side and it is wins like that that sometimes are the most character building of all.

McBreen and Hutchinson return for the Mariners and could replace Adam Kwasnik and Adriano Pellegrino respectively, while Ibini could also get a start.

The two meanest defences in the A-League come up against each other so do not expect an absolute goal-fest in this one.

The Mariners have conceded just 10 goals this season while Western Sydney have shipped 11.

Those records are primarily responsible for these sides being in first and third respectively on the table, but it will probably means goals will be hard to come by on Sunday.

But what fans will get to see, however, will be an absorbing contest between two high-quality sides, who will look to pick each other apart and find a way through each other's impregnable defence.

It could be scoreless, but it will certainly be intense.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Western Sydney Wanderers 2-2 Central Coast Mariners
    14.29 %
  • Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 Central Coast Mariners
    14.29 %
  • Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 Central Coast Mariners
    14.29 %
Head to Head
Australia - A-League ‎(AUS1)‎ 21/04/2013 Western Sydney Wanderers 0 - Central Coast Mariners 2
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
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Australia - A-League ‎(AUS1)‎ 02/03/2013 Central Coast Mariners 0 - Western Sydney Wanderers 1
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  • Play by Play
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Australia - A-League ‎(AUS1)‎ 06/01/2013 Western Sydney Wanderers 0 - Central Coast Mariners 2
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  • Play by Play
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Australia - A-League ‎(AUS1)‎ 06/10/2012 Western Sydney Wanderers 0 - Central Coast Mariners 0
  • Player Ratings
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Last Five Matches
Western Sydney Wanderers
21/04/2013Western Sydney Wanderers 0 - Central Coast Mariners 2AUS1
12/04/2013Western Sydney Wanderers 2 - Brisbane Roar 0AUS1
29/03/2013Newcastle Jets 0 - Western Sydney Wanderers 3AUS1
23/03/2013Western Sydney Wanderers 1 - Sydney FC 1AUS1
16/03/2013Melbourne Heart 1 - Western Sydney Wanderers 3AUS1
Central Coast Mariners
15/05/2013Central Coast Mariners 1 - Guangzhou Evergrande 2ACL
30/04/2013Central Coast Mariners 0 - Kashiwa Reysol 3ACL
23/04/2013Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0 - Central Coast Mariners 1ACL
21/04/2013Western Sydney Wanderers 0 - Central Coast Mariners 2AUS1
14/04/2013Central Coast Mariners 1 - Melbourne Victory 0AUS1
Odds
Team News
Available Squads
-Ante CovicGoalkeeper
12Shannon ColeDefender
6Nikolai Topor-StanleyDefender
20Jerome PolenzDefender
-Jacopo La RoccaDefender
8Aaron MooyMidfielder
-Shinji OnoMidfielder
-Jason TrifiroMidfielder
-Joe GibbsStriker
-Kwabena Appiah-KubiStriker
19Mark BridgeStriker
-Jerrad TysonGoalkeeper
11Tarek ElrichDefender
-Reece CairaDefender
25Labinot HalitiStriker
1Matthew RyanGoalkeeper
3Joshua RoseDefender
4Pedj BojicDefender
5Zachary AndersonDefender
16Trent SainsburyDefender
11Oliver BozanicMidfielder
14Michael McGlincheyMidfielder
18Nick MontgomeryMidfielder
2Daniel McBreenStriker
21Mile SterjovskiMidfielder
23Adam KwasnikStriker
20PasfieldGoalkeeper
7John HutchinsonMidfielder
-Brent GriffithsDefender
9Bernie Ibini-IseiStriker
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Daniel McBreen Daniel McBreen
Striker
Central Coast Mariners 		19 4
Jeremy Brockie Jeremy Brockie
Striker
Toronto FC 		16 2
Marco Rojas Marco Rojas
Midfielder
Melbourne Victory 		15 0
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero
Striker
Sydney FC 		14 4
Besart Berisha Besart Berisha
Striker
Brisbane 		14 4