Brisbane Roar play host to Western United on Wednesday with just one point separating the teams in the A-League standings.
Despite currently being down in eighth position, the home side will move up to fifth spot with victory in this fixture while still holding games in hand.
Match preview
On the back of three successive wins, there was disappointment in the Brisbane Roar ranks when they they only recorded a goalless draw at home to Wellington Phoenix.
Nevertheless, Roar are now the only side in the division who have remained undefeated in their last six fixtures, giving them the opportunity to make quick headway up the table.
Holding three games in hand, Warren Moon's team sit just five points adrift of second-placed Central Coast Mariners, a scenario which will encourage the Roar head coach to forget about the consequences of a defeat.
While Roar have not always fired on all cylinders in the final third, they have now gone eight matches without conceding more than one goal in a game.
Like their hosts, Western United deserve credit for their recent upturn in results as they bid to improve on the mid-table positions.
A goalless draw at Adelaide United last time out has extended their run to eight points from four games, a return only bettered by their next opponents.
Mark Rudan's outfit have now gone 263 minutes of football without conceding a goal, while three clean sheets have been posted in four outings.
There is still work to do in the final third, but Western United will move into third place in the table if they can win by a three-goal margin at the Suncorp Stadium.
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Team News
Having drawn a blank against Wellington Phoenix, Moon will consider making changes to his Roar XI.
Josh Brindell-South could return to the team on the right flank, while Rahmat Akbari is in contention for a recall in midfield or the final third.
Dylan Wenzel-Halls should also get the nod over Masato Kudo in the middle of the attack.
Western United will be without Victor Sanchez after the Spaniard was sent off for two yellow cards against Adelaide.
Steven Lustica is likely to be drafted into the centre of midfield in what may be the only alteration to the side.
Brisbane Roar possible starting lineup:
Young; Neville, Trewin, Gillesphey; Brindell-South, O'Shea, Daley, Brown; Danzaki, Wenzel-Halls, Champness
Western United possible starting lineup:
Scott; Calver, Imai, Durante, Pain; Lustica, Uskok; Pierias, Diamanti, Wales; Berisha
We say: Brisbane Roar 1-1 Western United
Given the recent form of these two sides, this contest will surely be decided by the finest of margins.
Although both teams have the freedom to push for maximum points, we can see them cancelling each other out over the 90 minutes.
Top tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brisbane Roar win with a probability of 45.43%. A win for Western United had a probability of 29.77% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brisbane Roar win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.24%) and 2-0 (7.5%). The likeliest Western United win was 0-1 (7.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.7%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brisbane Roar would win this match.
