It’s getting to the pointy end of the regular A-League season and Thursday evening features an intriguing contest between Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers at the Coopers Stadium with both teams needing a result to further enhance their prospects of a top six finish and a play-off spot.
In actual fact, Adelaide United already occupy a place in the top six as the hosts sit in 5th place but they still need at least a point to confirm their play-off spot and recent results have been inconsistent to say the least.
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Adelaide head into this final match of the season having managed to pick up just two wins out of their last nine matches overall which consists of wins against Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory but four defeats within this period have prevented the hosts from already securing a play-off spot.
It’s worth mentioning though that three of Adelaide’s recent four defeats were incurred away from home, while form at Coopers Stadium has been steady with Adelaide losing just one of their last nine matches on home soil.
Western Sydney Wanderers recorded a solid 2-0 home win over Brisbane Roar last time out in the A-League to keep their very slim hopes of a top six finish alive but it’s all down to this final game of the season for The Wanderers as they pray for a miracle and a comprehensive win on Thursday.
For Western Sydney Wanderers to reach the play-offs, the visitors must win this clash at Adelaide United by a margin of eight goals or more and/or hope that Brisbane Roar lose their last two matches of the regular season.
In short, Western Sydney must grab a win here but having lost three of their last four matches overall, the visitors may have their work cut out to get a result against an Adelaide United outfit who have been hard to beat at home this season.
In addition, Wanderers have found wins hard to come by in recent times in the A-League as they’ve recorded just three victories from their last 12 matches overall, all f which have been achieved on home turf at their Bankwest Stadium.
Adelaide United should therefore have enough about them to at least avoid defeat here and the hosts could well grab all three points to make sure.