Although Wellington Phoenix lost 1-3 to FC Sydney last time, they continue to be tied with Melbourne Victory at the top of the table before facing Adelaide, who is not doing well in the recent past.
I think Wellington Phoenix was a bit unlucky in their last match against FC Sydney. In the last 10 minutes of the game, they managed to equalize with Babaloussis, but they conceded two goals at the end of the game, and eventually lost the game. The good thing is that Babaloussis has scored again, he has scored 4 goals in the last 3 matches, which is quite good, and Oscar Sahuada is expected to be out of action due to injury, so he is going to be the most threatening player for the team once again.
In addition, the high speed of young attacking midfielder Bin Ott poses a problem for the opponent's backline, which is exactly what Wellington Phoenix is best at when they counterattack, and I expect them to adopt this style of play again in this match.
Although Wellington Phoenix's defense has been quite good this season, I feel that they made a lot of mistakes at the back against FC Sydney last time, and couldn't cope with their opponent's crosses from the side, and straight passes from the middle of the field. This situation should give Adelaide United some hope to grab some points, considering they have lost 4 out of their last 5 matches, and they need to get back on track.
Adelaide United have failed to score in 3 of their last 4 matches, so the team is going through a tough time. I'm happy to see Ilan Kwanta back in the starting lineup after missing out on the last 3 matches. The 17 year old may still be a bit shaky in terms of performance, but his speed will cause problems for the opposing defenders, especially if Clough is able to get the ball to his feet, and he'll be able to rewrite the game.
