If you have any questions on something not covered here, or just want some specific advice for your team, join me in the weekly Zeebox Live Fantasy A-League chat on Friday at 2pm Eastern, so click the link at the appropriate time and join the discussion! Otherwise you can use the comments section at the bottom of the page or contact me on Twitter. You can find the full list of squads for this round here
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Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix
Phoenix unavailable: Albert Riera, Paul Ifill, Leo Bertos, Louis Fenton (injured)
Captaincy options: Carlos Hernandez, Stein Huysegems
The round kicks off with an interesting match-up between a Mariners side that has lost 3 on the trot against a Wellington no doubt absolutely filthy with their showing against the Heart. The Mariners finally got to give Kim Seong-yong a run after his international clearance came through. Coming on in the 58th minute, Kim managed to create 4 chances - the most of any Mariners player. It suggests he is one to watch if you are in search of a cheaper midfield option, with the main concern being how much the Mariners' ACL participation impacts on his A-League game time. He will start this week, though it may be in a wide role. Anthony Caceres meanwhile continued as one of the Mariners' two deeper midfielders, meaning you can't rely on him to be a contributor and should look elsewhere. He may play at #10 on Friday night but don't read too much into that - it's due to the reshuffle forced by suspensions. Likewise for Mitchell Duke playing as a striker and Matt Sim starting. Bernie Ibini's early missed chance suggests that he still hasn't quite hit his stride. He may come into calculations in the coming weeks, however the ACL may also restrict his game time. The impact of the ACL could be seen as early as Friday night with the Mariners playing in Korea on Tuesday.
Wellington's defeat to Heart was only their second since Round 10; they'll certainly be hoping they can bounce back against the Mariners with fantasy favourites like Carlos Hernandez and Stein Huysegems needing to contribute more. Hernandez' 4 attempts were all on target, however all were from long range (and thus less likely to result in goals), while he created no chances - showing the Heart did an excellent job of frustrating the playmaker. Huysegems only had 1 (blocked) shot for the match - and that was from outside the box. Though not on the radar in fantasy football, Albert Riera has been a key contributor for the Nix and his absence (likely for the rest of the season) could be sorely missed in their run to the finals. Can the Nix rebound from last week? If you think so, Hernandez and Huysegems are the men to back in here. For those who still have Reece Caira, Riera's absence will see Manny Muscat move into midfield, thus opening the door for Caira - or Josh-Brindell South - at left back. Owners of Jason Hicks should be wary of playing him this week, as it appears he may not have travelled with the squad.
Newcastle Jets v Sydney FC
Sydney unavailable: Rhyan Grant, Peter Triantis, Terry McFlynn, Pedj Bojic, Nick Carle, Milos Dimitrijevic, Joel Chianese, Seb Ryall (injured), Aaron Calver (suspended)
Captaincy options: Adam Taggart, Alessandro Del Piero, Ranko Despotovic
The Saturday night opener also throws up a crucial game for the teams involved. With both sides coming off wins last week - the Jets aforementioned triumph against the Roar and Sydney's dismissal of an ordinary Perth side - they'll be looking to build on those successes here. Adam Taggart was the man again for the Jets, converting the penalty and picking up man of the match honours. Keep in mind that Taggart is erratic - despite scoring 3 goals in his last 3, these are his only goals since his hat trick against the Heart in Round 7. So keep that in mind if you pick him; personally, I would look elsewhere. Andrew Hoole and Joel Griffiths will return from suspension, the latter likely off the bench. David Carney may make his A-League comeback appearance this weekend - and he has now been added to the game at the reasonable price of $125k as a defender. I would not be rushing to get him though as his match time may be limited, and the Jets are not having the best season either. His eventual impact on the game time of others may be interesting or concerning, depending on who you own.
Ranko Despotovic and Alessandro Del Piero again showed why they are Sydney's most reliable fantasy options, combining for the opener, while Terry Antonis scored the eventual winner on return from injury. At $188k, perhaps he is worth considering should you be searching for cheaper midfield options. Sasa Ognenovski may have looked to introduced some steel to Sydney's defence, though Perth's reliance on crosses (see the analysis from Tim Palmer I've linked to above) - which the Og Monster will eat for breakfast - certainly helped the big man out. Matt Jurman played again despite the inclusion of Ognenovski, though I'd expect he will eventually make way for Seb Ryall. Youngster Themba Muata-Marlow will play at right back this week with Aaron Calver suspended and Ryall injured.
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
United unavailable: Cassio, Jacob Melling, Ryan Griffiths (injured), Michael Zullo (suspended)
Captaincy options: James Troisi, Gui Finkler, Tom Rogic, Archie Thompson, Fabio Ferreira
The Saturday night blockbuster looms as the match of the round, with red-hot Adelaide travelling to Melbourne to face their biggest rivals. With Adelaide already capitulating twice to the Victory this season - including to 10 men in the last encounter - they'll be wanting to show that they've learned from their mistakes. The Victory will no doubt have taken confidence from their win against Muangthong and Champions League qualification, and will look to knock off a Reds side that has now passed them on the ladder. James Troisi seemingly answered my claims that his goals had dried up with a brace against the Mariners, followed up by another goal against Muangthong. Gui Finkler was left out of the squad for the ACL qualifier and thus should be in line for a start against the Reds, so Troisi may be moved to a wing (in place of Kosta Barbarouses) if Muscat wants to start Gui and Tom Rogic as the 2 number 10s. Troisi could also be rested if Muscat wants to save him for the Victory's trip to China next week. Archie Thompson loves to score against the Reds and is surely a decent chance of doing so here.
After again dismantling the Mariners at Coopers Stadium, the Reds will likely look to the same key men against the Victory to inspire them to a win. Marcelo Carrusca is vastly overpriced despite his quality so I'd still be looking elsewhere, however the other scorer from Round 19, Fabio Ferreira, should be in everyone's considerations despite his issues with injuries. With Cirio's return Michael Zullo has indeed returned to left back, so his value to fantasy coaches has diminished. He is suspended here anyway, meaning Tarek Elrich will probably again fill in as left back.
Perth Glory v Western Sydney Wanderers
Wanderers unavailable: Ante Covic (injured), Shinji Ono (illness), Jerome Polenz (suspended)
Captaincy options: (none)
Winless since Round 14 and playing some ordinary football, Perth's top 6 hopes are sinking. Despite the inclusion of Darvydas Sernas and Nebojsa Marinkovic, the Glory are struggling to create and Shane Smeltz has been goalless for the last 3 games. It's hard to recommend jumping on any Perth players at the moment - and certainly not scorer Rostyn Griffiths, who is playing deep in midfield and thus unlikely to add to his tally. Nonetheless, Marinkovic is a cheaper midfield option and may provide points from dead ball situations, as he did on Saturday. Sernas has done little since scoring with his first touch in the A-League and was poor against Sydney, so I'd avoid him for now. As for Smeltz - if you have him, you might want to consider offloading him for another option up front, or you could hold onto him in the hope Perth will improve. Riley Woodcock at least seems set to continue at left back for now.
For the Wanderers - who had the bye last week thanks to the Victory's ACL qualifier - it will be interesting to see who Popovic sends out West considering the Wanderers then play Ulsan at home in the ACL on Wednesday. Considering the Wanderers rotation will likely continue throughout the ACL and thus the rest of the A-League season, it's very hard to say who will play and score points for them regularly with any confidence. That the Wanderers have signed Daniel Mullen, Antony Golec and Golgol Mebrahtu solely for their ACL campaign suggests Jerome Polenz (who is suspended for this game) and Matthew Spiranovic may be two of the safer options, while the likes of Mark Bridge, Shinji Ono (out for this game with an illness) and Youssuf Hersi are rather expensive given there is no guarantee of them starting every week. Because of the 3+1 rule in the ACL, the Wanderers have left Mateo Poljak out of their squad, meaning he will be free to concentrate on the A-League - though as a defensive midfielder, that's not much help to us fantasy coaches. With Ono out, Aaron Mooy could again play as #10 - I would not advise owning him given he is often deployed in deeper roles, but if you do have him you might get something out of him this week. Ante Covic is out injured so if you have Jerrad Tyson as your second keeper you may be able to play him this week if you wish.
Melbourne Heart v Brisbane Roar
Roar unavailable: George Lambadaridis (injured)
Captaincy options: David Williams, Mate Dugandzic, Besart Berisha, Thomas Broich
After incredibly belting Wellington away from home, the Heart return to AAMI Park with 4 wins in their last 5 to face a Brisbane side again shown up by the 9th placed Jets. Missing Harry Kewell (still out) and Jonatan Germano (back this week), the Heart's goals came from hat trick hero David Williams (who has 5 in his last 3 games), defender Rob Wielart (no, you don't want him - and he's suspended this week anyway) and a rocket from Orlando Engelaar. Engelaar probably plays too deep in midfield to be a regular goal threat (and despite his height, he's no threat from corners), so you'd probably be better off looking at other cheap midfield options. Williams remains a conundrum - he has the quality, but not the consistency. I'd be very hesitant to recommend that everyone should grab him, but if the Heart keep going he may score a few more. But can you rely on him to bang them in every week like Berisha can? I don't think so. He could prove me wrong, of course, and I'd expect some of you will be keen to roll the dice. Mate Dugandzic perhaps allayed some fears that he had tricked us into thinking he's a fantasy option, assisting 2 of the Heart's 5 goals.
Sunday's game saw Thomas Broich move back to his regular position on the left wing, while Ivan Franjic was moved to right back. The latter is concerning for fantasy coaches, as he's vastly overpriced if the Roar continue to play him there. See what they do this week and consider moving him on if he stays there. His potential involvement in the next Socceroos friendly may force your hand anyway. The Roar missed Matt McKay and Liam Miller in midfield, and their inclusions should see an improved performance, while Besart Berisha will be looking to put his only his 3rd goalless 90 minutes behind him. After this week the Roar have 4 of the next 5 at home, and their one away trip in that time is to face Sydney FC, so I'd be confident of some goals for Berisha ahead - and there's no concern of him (or Broich) being called up for international duty, nor do the Roar have ACL fixtures to worry about.