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The News
- The Wanderers again have the bye this week, along with Brisbane Roar. The Wanderers will play their catch-up game against the Mariners in Round 6 and the Roar in Round 9.
- Melbourne Victory's FFA Cup loss to Perth Glory last night will have implications for Fantasy A-League coaches - Archie Thompson pulled out of the game late with illness, while Besart Berisha, Matthieu Delpierre and Jesse Makarounas were all subbed out with injuries. Adding to the damage, both Daniel Georgievski and Adrian Leijer were sent off (meaning they are certain to miss this week's game against Wellington).
- Fabio Ferreira is injured again for Adelaide after returning to the starting line up last round. He's listed as 2-4 weeks, but knowing hamstring issues it could end up being longer.
Talking Points
- David Villa plays his final game for Melbourne City this week, so if you don't have him I would not be bringing him in now.
- As noted here last week, Aaron Mooy should benefit from Robert Koren's extended absence by playing in a more advanced role. He's also handy from a dead ball, and currently leads City's squad in fantasy points with 23.
- Cirio was the main beneficiary of Gombau's return to a 4-3-3 formation, moving on to his favoured left wing and scoring a goal. As discussed last week, Cirio is really only an option if he plays there, so any coaches jumping on will be hoping he stays on the left this week. This is uncertain thanks to Ferreira's absence.
- Bruce Djite missed the game against Perth with a calf problem; Djite has been injury prone previously in his career and Adelaide will be hoping this does not develop into an ongoing issue. He's back in the squad this week, however.
- Awer Mabil showed his explosiveness off the bench with a goal - I wouldn't pick him unless he was a regular starter, and I don't think he will be just yet.
- On the downside for Adelaide's fantasy prospects, Craig Goodwin was shifted to left back (making him a bad OOP pick) and Dylan McGowan was benched for the returning Osama Malik. I'd expect McGowan to remain on the sidelines until Malik or Nigel Boogaard get injured or suspended. Goodwin may return to left wing with Ferreira injured, unless Gombau wishes to continue with the 4-3-3 with Cirio on the left and either Pablo Sanchez (the likely option, assuming Djite is fit - Sanchez led the line in Djite's absence last round) or Mabil on the right wing.
- Andy Keogh may have disappointed against Adelaide, however he netted twice (and could have had a couple more) against Victory in the FFA Cup. I'd expect him to give Newcastle's defence a thorough examination on Saturday, though he could be subbed out early if Perth are well ahead (thanks also to the FFA Cup).
- Nebojsa Marinkovic again only played 45 minutes last week, however he came off the bench to help Perth get over Victory last night, scoring a goal as well. I'd not be surprised to see him start against Newcastle, especially with Youssouf Hersi clearly not 100% fit and needing to be managed.
- Besides Keogh, Perth aren't really providing many fantasy options at the moment. Mitch Nichols in particular has been a disappointment, returning only 13 points so far.
- Things aren't looking great for Newcastle, nor are they providing us with any fantasy options besides cheapish defenders. Joel Griffiths has returned a reasonable 19 points, though I'd be wary of him being asked to play different roles across the front 3 which could affect his scoring. That, and he plays for Newcastle.
- Coaches hoping Mark Birighitti is unseated by the even cheaper Ben Kennedy do not appear to be in luck despite a poor showing against Wellington, as Stubbins has hinted Birighitti will stay in goals for now.
- To the surprise of no one, Adrian Madaschi is still listed as 1-2 weeks away.
- Perhaps even more surprising than Sydney won in Brisbane was the fact that they kept the first away clean sheet of the season doing so. Sasa Ognenovski currently sits on 20 points, having picked up 11 last week. I'm not a fan of paying big money for defenders though (unless they are OOP), given the reliance on clean sheets to boost scores - and we've only had 3 in 14 games so far.
- Marc Janko scored a wonderful goal, however otherwise was disappointing again. Arnold has stated we haven't seen anywhere the best of him yet; his owners will hope that is the case.
- Milos Dimitrijevic also scored a great goal, though I'd warn any coaches thinking of jumping on that he plays deep in Sydney's midfield, and that goal is likely to be the exception rather than the rule.
- Corey Gamiero had a quieter week, though he missed some good chances in the win against Brisbane. The chances will continue to come so as long as he can start hitting the target again he remains a good option. Alex Brosque garnered 6 points thanks largely to an assist and some shot assists, meaning he sits atop Sydney's scorers with 25.
- Alex Gersbach is yet another cheap defender who seems to have lost their spot in their side.
- The Mariners return from the bye to face a rampant Sydney side. They looked quite poor in defeat to Wellington in their last game back in Round 2. Nonetheless, fantasy coaches will cast a keen eye on this game to see what roles Matt Sim and Glen Trifiro play.
- As stated in the news, Victory could be missing a number of key players for Monday's game at home to the Nix. Georgievski and Leijer are definitely out, while Berisha, Thompson and Delpierre are uncertain despite being named in the squad. Jason Geria is also out injured too.
- After Berisha bounced back with a hat trick last week, he could miss the game Monday despite being named in the squad - it is up to coaches whether they trade him out or risk keeping him.
- Fahid Ben Khalfallah started and scored in the FFA Cup; if Thompson does not recover he may find himself starting on Monday.
- Wellington were hugely impressive in their 4-1 demolition of the Jets, and now potentially face a weakened Victory. Nathan Burns and Michael McGlinchey both fired last week, especially Burns who led all scorers with 21 points for the round. Fantasy coaches who captained him may want to double up again this week considering Victory will be missing 3 members of their regular starting defence, perhaps all 4 if Delpierre can't play.
- The Nix would be even more dangerous if Jeremy Brockie could rediscover his scoring form; at present, that appears unlikely.
- In more bad news for coaches who have gone cheap in defence, Tom Doyle's spot in the side may be in question after he was replaced by Manny Muscat at left back in the 'first XI' during training today.