Adelaide United vs Sydney FC
The FFA Cup Final rematch is on this Friday, only 10 days later. Sydney come into the match sitting comfortably in top spot, but Adelaide are now up to 4th, and are out for revenge.
The tensions were high in the last match, culminating in the extra-time incident, and don't expect this match to be any different. Both teams will be missing key players, due to 3 red cards between these teams in the last week.
There are also some important inclusions this week for both teams; for Sydney, Michael Zullo and Milos Ninkovic are set to return from injury, and for Adelaide, Vince Lia is set to make his long- awaited return after a knee injury back in round 3.
Adelaide will come into the match in-form after a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers last week; in which goalkeeper, Paul Izzo, notched his first clean sweep of the season, and Ryan Kitto, who is having a breakout season, scored his first ever brace.
Yet, Sydney remains the team to beat this season, and they will be led by skipper, Alex Brosque, who has scored five goals in the last four games against Adelaide.
Will history be on Sydney's side or will Adelaide get their revenge?
Mikaela Pratt
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Brisbane Roar
Every week Brisbane play, it's become a question of how long will Aloisi stay in charge. To their credit, their lone win so far came at the expense of the star studded Melbourne City squad. Other than that, not much else is going their way.
I've questioned their ageing squad a couple of times this season, but their young backline seemed to be what let them down against Sydney. The loss of former Olympiacos captain Avraam Papadopoulous won't help their causes, his experience and leadership is something they will miss greatly after the hideous spitting incident.
I still feel it's a little premature to be asking for Aloisi's head. We have to take into consideration he doesn't have a full squad to choose from among other things. Last week's result should be something they learn from, it can't get worse than that.
Western Sydney will be taking some time to adjust to Gombau's playing style, as these kinds of changes don't just happen overnight. A loss to his former club Adelaide ultimately came down to the VAR controversies of the round, which shouldn't be anything to go by if we're perfectly honest.
Gombau has promised his renowned attacking style, and given the squad he has inherited I believe it'll come to fruition against a poor looking Brisbane Roar. He won 1 of his first 9 games in charge at Adelaide before going onto success, it just goes to show football might be a high intencity game but you simply have to have some patience as well.
Patience is the key for both these sides as they look to try and generate some form and good results this season, Brisbane after some poorly results and Western Sydney for the first time under their new coach.
Chris Sermeno
Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne City
Other than the fact this will be a tasty clash between a couple of top contenders, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface for these two sides heading into round 9.
The Jets, who are the high-flying surprise packets this season, are dealing with something of an injury crisis, with 7 first team players out for extended periods.
Funny enough, the loss of top goal scorer Roy O'Donovan hasn't hurt them as much as expected. Despite losing 2-1 to league leaders Sydney, they thrashed a hapless Melbourne Victory 4-1 in convincing fashion. The game against City will be an excellent test of both Newcastle's depth and title aspirations.
On the other hand, Melbourne City might be playing good football at the moment but we get the impression they're an unsettled club. After Tim Cahill's little "I might leave City" spat, it seems that manager Warren Joyce & City hierarchy aren't afraid to wield the axe if need be.
The victim is former assistant and caretaker coach, Michael Valkanis, who seemed to cop the boot despite City suggesting it was a mutual termination. Rumours around conflict of style and tactics seemed to put the coaches at odds, and Warren Joyce came out the winner.
There's no telling what this does to a club's morale. Hopefully this won't affect the playing group too much, but it'll be a noticeable difference on match day and on the training ground. A good test of their mettle this weekend.
Chris Sermeno
Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory
Both teams got pulverised last round, after both experiencing a 4-1 defeat, and will be looking to prove themselves this week.
Melbourne Victory sit the highest of the two in 8th spot, while Wellington Phoenix sit bottom, in 10th spot. Yet, both teams have only had one win this season and will be looking for their second.
This game will be Victory's third away game in as many weeks, and travel is expected to have a huge impact; but it cannot be used as an excuse, especially against a team who has to travel internationally most weeks to play.
Both teams have promoted a bunch of young talent, in hopes of injecting energy into their teams, that badly need it. Phoenix have added Alex Rufer and Tom Doyle, while Victory have included Kenny Athiu, Joshua Hope and Pierce Waring. Victory will be without mark Milligan though who received a one week suspension after his red card last week.
It is a bottom of the table clash, but that doesn't mean there is nothing to play for. After shocking losses last week, which team will be able to rebound and prove themselves?
Mikaela Pratt
Perth Glory vs Central Coast Mariners
We're making a good dent in the season now and things have well and truly started to take shape. The general landscape of the league is pretty easy to see now, Sydney are pretty good, Victory not so much, this is all pretty obvious.
For two clubs in particular though, it is much more difficult to get a gauge on exactly how they're travelling.
Perth and Central Coast have the shining examples of inconsistency this year, with each side that turns up being wildly different to the one from the week before. Getting hammered by Wellington Phoenix and then going and beating Melbourne City away from home. Just another fortnight in the life of a Glory player. With such wildly inconsistent results it's impossible to predict just what's going to happen when either of these teams rock up.
Perth Glory have shown they have a bad habit of leaking goals away from home, having conceded 12 from their 5 away games this season. Up against a Mariners side who is fresh off a four goal Phoenix triumph, they may find this a tough task on Sunday.
Brodie Cowburn
