We have arrived at the final round of the A-League regular season and we are set for a truly outstanding weekend of matches.
Sydney FC will host the Victory in another edition of the Big Blue on Friday night, while the Mariners and Jets will lock horns in Saturday night’s F3 Derby. The match of the round will take place on Sunday however, when the Glory and Roar go toe-to-toe for potentially the final position in this season’s finals.
Week 27 of the A-League is underway in style when Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory square off in another edition of the Big Blue. Regardless of form, this is always one of the biggest games of the A-League season, but both teams have been terrific recently and that is sure to add even more to Friday night’s encounter.
Sydney FC will end the regular season as premiers again and they have been as close to perfect as any franchise in A-League history; winning nineteen of their twenty-six games and sitting fourteen points clear of the second-placed Jets with only this game to play.
The Victory’s shaky form through February and March appears to be behind them and they are seeking a third-consecutive win on Friday. They did have a few lean minutes against the bottom-placed Phoenix last week, but they still did enough to get the job done. The Victory can leapfrog crosstown rivals City into third by beating Sydney FC and they will make a serious statement if they are successful.
Sydney deserve favouritism leading into this match and they can complete an ideal lead-in to the finals with a win over the old enemy.
Melbourne City will attempt to consolidate their third-place status by beating the Phoenix in Wellington on Saturday evening.
City have returned to form at the perfect point of their campaign and will give themselves the best chance of a deep run through this season’s finals by finishing third. They have beaten two of their finals-bound rivals in the form of the Jets and Wanderers recently and overall, their performances suggest that they will be a real handful for Wellington.
The end of the season could not have come quick enough for the struggling New Zealand franchise and sights have been set on rebuilding their culture for the 2018/19 campaign for a while now.
The Phoenix have remained anchored to the bottom of the table for the entire season and they are now winless for nearly two months.
They can take some benefit into the offseason with a dignity-boosting win over Melbourne City, but their minds are clearly already off the job and City look good for a win.
Another treat for fans will see the 44th edition of the F3 Derby fought between the Mariners and Jets on the Central Coast.
It’s been opposites for the old rivals this season and the Mariners are another club who are looking towards a rebuild for their next campaign. They flew the gates at the beginning of the season and looked like a club that was capable of finishing in the top four, but their inconsistently has been telling and mathematically, they can still finish last in overall standings. To their credit, they are unlucky not to have taken anything from their three most-recent matches, having lost each by a solitary goal.
The Jets have enjoyed their best season since they won the whole thing in 2008 and they look like a club that is capable of returning to the pinnacle this time around. Their young squad has been simply terrific and they have shown an ability beyond their years, on their way to a home final. Worryingly, they have lost their two most-recent matches and they need to win here to take confidence into the finals.
This is a great opportunity for the Jets to tune-up and they represent great value to beat their old rivals.
It is do-or-die for both the Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar in Week 27 and this is set to be the most vital fixture in the final week of the regular season.
They Glory looked down and out a month ago, but they have rallied well to give themselves a serious crack at the finals by winning four of their last five matches. Their one loss in that period of time was against Sydney FC and they went extremely close on that occasion, away from home.
The Roar were in the box seat to finish sixth and claim the final position in this season’s finals, but they were thrashed and subsequently leapfrogged by the Wanderers last weekend and now face an extremely difficult task in the form of the Glory.
These sides are tied on 32 competition points heading into the final week, but the Glory can launch a serious threat in the finals and are over the odds to win this match.
The 2017/18 A-League regular season will draw to a close when the Wanderers host Adelaide United on Sunday afternoon.
The Wanderers have had legitimate excuses for their shaky form this season, but so is the quality of the club that they are still a live chance of playing finals football. With the Glory and Roar tied on points and facing off, the requirement is black and white for the Wanderers this week: win. They were terrific against Brisbane last weekend and will take plenty of confidence into this vital fixture.
Adelaide have done enough to confirm a finals berth and they have won two of their three most-recent matches. A Week 26 flogging at the hands of Sydney FC won’t have done a lot for their confidence however, and they’ll need to improve noticeably to compete with the hungry Wanderers.
Western Sydney won’t leave their status to chance and they can confirm another week by beating Adelaide.