Sydney FC will be looking to record a third consecutive victory on Wednesday when they travel to the Nib Stadium to take on Perth Glory.
An upturn in form has seen the Sydney outfit rise up to sixth spot in the Australian A-League table, while a run of four games without a win has seen Wednesday's hosts drop to ninth.
Match preview
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Perth Glory suffered a disappointing defeat last time out, as Western Sydney Wanderers cruised to a 3-0 home win thanks to a Mitchell Duke brace and a James Troisi goal.
That stretched their winless run to four games, having previously lost to Wellington Phoenix, as well as recording a draw and a loss in two games against league leaders Central Coast Mariners.
As a result, Richard Garcia's side have quickly dropped down the table after they enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning four of their first six league games.
Their struggles this season have mostly come in defence, with only basement side Melbourne Victory conceding more than the 23 goals that the Perth outfit have shipped so far this campaign.
However, their attacking record does provide much more encouragement, as only three sides in the A-League have netted more than their 21 from 10 league games.
That suggests that if they can find a way to tighten up at the back, Garcia's men should quickly be able to rise back up the table.
However, that will definitely not be easy, as they welcome a Sydney FC side who will be looking for a third straight win as they continue to build momentum in the league.
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Last time out, Sydney trailed 1-0 at home to Newcastle Jets, but second-half goals from Milos Ninkovic and Alex Wilkinson turned the game on its head and sealed a narrow victory for the Sky Blues.
Before that, Steve Corica's side recorded a much more convincing victory, as Bobo and Rhyan Grant fired them to a 2-0 win at home to Western United.
In contrast to their opponents, Sydney's success this season has been built on a solid defence, with no side in the Australian top flight conceding as few as the 11 that Corica's men have shipped so far this campaign.
However, they will be looking to improve their attacking output, as only the league's bottom two sides have netted fewer goals than their 15.
Corica will definitely feel that Wednesday provides a great opportunity to fix those problems going forward, as they travel to take on one of the league's weakest back lines.
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Team News
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Perth Glory will remain without midfielder Chris Ikonomidis, who is yet to feature this season due to a knee injury.
He could be joined on the sidelines by centre-back Mason Tatafu, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury after making his first start of the season at the beginning of March.
However, the Glory added to their defensive ranks with the recent signing of Jason Geria, and the former Melbourne Victory man could come into the team for his debut on Wednesday.
Garcia could look to make changes to his attacking lineup, as experienced forward Andy Keogh is yet to find the net in league action this season.
He could instead choose to call upon Carlo Armiento, who has registered three goals and two assists so far this campaign, despite starting only five games.
Veteran midfielder Neil Kilkenny has been Perth Glory's creative hub this season, registering six assists in 10 appearances.
Sydney FC remain without several players through injury, as Trent Buhagiar, Michael Zullo and Christopher Zuvela all continue spells out of action.
Experienced midfielder Milos Ninkovic will be pushing for a starting spot after he netted an important goal in the recent victory over Newcastle Jets.
Likewise, Bobo will also be looking to return to the starting side after he was dropped back to the bench last time out, despite scoring in the win over Western United.
Ryan McGowan and Alex Wilkinson have formed the league's strongest defence this season, and they will start together at the back on Wednesday.
Perth Glory possible starting lineup:
Reddy; Geria, Bodnar, Lachman, Ota; D'Agostino, Wilson, Kilkenny, Castro; Armiento, Fornaroli
Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; Grant, McGowan, Wilkinson, King; Brattan, Retre; Caceres, Ninkovic; Barbarouses, Bobo
We say: Perth Glory 0-2 Sydney FC
The visitors definitely come into this game with much more confidence and momentum, and that should carry them to a third consecutive win on Wednesday.
Despite Perth Glory's impressive attacking record, the Sky Blues have shown themselves to be a solid defensive unit, and they should have enough to limit the hosts while punishing their defensive weaknesses.
Top tip
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 Sydney FC win with a probability of 43.5%. A win for Perth Glory had a probability of 32.34% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sydney FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.19%) and 0-2 (6.63%). The likeliest Perth Glory win was 2-1 (7.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.
