Melbourne Heart will be looking for consecutive wins for the first time, while Brisbane Roar will be keen to follow up a big performance against Melbourne Victory last weekend.
Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory
Pluim Park
4pm Friday
A happy team is a winning one, and Central Coast Mariners’ first win of the season will have come as a great delight for coach Tony Walmsley and his men.
Helped by a 90-minute showing from Mustafa Amini on Saturday, the Mariners edged Sydney FC for three important points.
And promising striker Kwabena Appiah-Kubi did his ambitions for a starting role no harm with the winning goal after his half-time injection.
Victory coach Darren Davies would have been concerned with his side’s brittleness at the back against the Roar, and his quest for their first points of the season will not get any easier against the Mariners.
Petar Franjic, Matthew Kemp and Jean Carlos Solorzano are likely to be involved in the senior squad for Sunday’s clash with the Mariners, while goalkeeper Rani Dowisha could win a place on the bench for Mehmet Durakovic’s men despite conceding five goals for the NYL side last Sunday.
Highly rated Austrian-born midfielder James Jeggo will need to fire again, having briefly put Victory in front before the Roar’s avalanche of goals.
Brisbane Roar FC v AIS
Cleveland Showgrounds
3.30pm Saturday
Claiming the most impressive win of Week 3 with their 5-1 thumping of Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar showed the club’s quality runs deeper than just their superlative-inspiring senior team.
Five-star Roar went behind early but had claimed the lead by the 29th minute, with midfielder George Lambadaridis icing the win with a superb free-kick in the 84th minute.
The Melbourne-born midfielder, 19, joined Roar in September after returning from a season with Belgium outfit Club Brugge’s youth team, and he will be particularly important should Luke Brattan fail to recover from his late knock against the Victory.
Roar face an AIS side fresh from their first win of the new campaign, with Ben Warland and Jakob Williams getting the goals in a 2-0 win over Gold Coast United last Saturday.
Australia Under-17 goalkeeper Paul Izzo did his burgeoning reputation no harm by keeping a United side containing Tahj Minniecon and Chris Harold at bay.
Perth Glory FC v Sydney FC
6PR Stadium
10am Sunday
Perth Glory go into Week 4 as one of only two sides still left undefeated, and they will be disappointed not to have a 100 percent record after the Newcastle Jets’ 89th-minute equaliser in their last start.
Captain Reece Vittaglia got the goal for Glory, who coped well with the absence of Australia under-20 internationals Jesse Makarounas and Adam Taggart.
They will also be well rested, with 11 days between Sunday’s clash with Sydney and their draw with the Jets.
The Sky Blues will be keen for an immediate return to winning form after their loss to the Mariners in Week 3, with Shannon Cole and Dimitri Petratos to perhaps continue their wait for first-team football after the senior side’s rousing come-from-behind win over Gold Coast United on Sunday.
Melbourne Heart FC v Newcastle Jets FC
John Cain Memorial Park
3pm Sunday
Successive wins for the first time in their short history will be the hosts’ goal against the Jets, who are still to taste defeat this campaign.
Adrian Madaschi made his first competitive appearance in Heart colours in the 1-0 win over Adelaide United on Saturday, while fellow senior contract-holders Rutger Worm, Kristian Sarkies and El Babalj – who hit the winner – also played a part.
It remains to be seen if a rested Jets outfit could include newly resigned English veteran Michael Bridges, but it was young defender David Vrankovic who was the hero against Perth in Week 3 with his late equaliser.
A win would do plenty for either side’s ambitions to clamber free of the early season logjam on the table, while there should be plenty of players out to push their senior claims in Northcote.
Gold Coast United FC v Adelaide United FC
Owen Park
4pm Sunday
What has happened to Gold Coast United? Mike Mulvey has guided his side to consecutive titles in the past two NYL seasons, but only goal difference is keeping United from bottom of the table after three consecutive losses to start the new campaign.
Forward Tahj Minniecon has not been sighted on the senior team sheet since Round 1, and how timely a goal against Adelaide would be for the confidence of the 22-year-old and his team-mates.
But snapping their run of losses will not be easy for GCU against an Adelaide United side which in Week 3 included Nigel Boogaard, Fabian Barbiero, Daniel Mullen and Osama Malik.
Adelaide slumped to their first loss of the new campaign against Heart last Saturday, and will be keen to atone in their trip North.
