I will again be participating in the Zeebox Live Fantasy A-League chat on Friday at around 2pm Eastern, so if you have a question for me click the link above and join the discussion! Otherwise you can use the comments section at the bottom of the page or hit me up on Twitter. You can find the official A-League squad lists for Round 7 here.
Brisbane Roar v Western Sydney Wanderers
Wanderers unavailable: Tomi Juric, Youssouf Hersi (injured)
Captaincy options: Mark Bridge, Jerome Polenz, Shinji Ono
After disappointingly falling 2-1 to the Jets in Newcastle last week, the Roar will look to bounce back at home. Unfortunately, they'll have to do it against the Wanderers, a team they have never defeated and only scored against once. Undefeated Western Sydney saw off the Victory 1-0 without two of their key players, Tomi Juric and Youssouf Hersi, a trick they will have to repeat this week. Juric may be out for up to two months, so if you decided to hang onto him he needs to be traded out now. Hersi has allegedly trained well during the week, so he should be ok for next weekend. Brisbane finally have Besart Berisha available, but he may have to come off the Bunnings, so I'd think twice about immediately trading him back in. Ivan Franjic may also have to start on the bench after getting a full game for the Socceroos on Tuesday night, but I'd still play him; his potential for points is too great to risk benching him, even against the Wanderers. Matt McKay should be ok to start; the return of these players will cause problems for owners of their replacements, such as Henrique and Kwame Yeboah.
Last season the Wanderers shocked the Roar in Brisbane for their first ever win in the A-League, 1-0 courtesy of a strike from Bridge. Western Sydney followed up with another 1-0 win in Parramatta, with Ono converting the winner from the spot, and then a 2-1 victory at Suncorp - Bridge and Hersi netting for the Wanderers, while Mitch Nichols scored the Roar's opener, and only goal so far against the Wanderers. The sweep was completed in the finals, with Ono and Dino Kresinger leading Western Sydney to a 2-0 win and a spot in the Grand Final. Based on that form and absences and concerns over key personnel for the Roar, it'd be tough to tip against the unbeaten Wanderers here. For captaincy, Bridge - who got off the mark last week - and Ono have form in the fixtures, while Jerome Polenz could be a shout for a clean sheet. Roar players are somewhat riskier options given the questions over game time, and Thomas Broich seems a bit out of form at the moment.
Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix
Phoenix unavailable: Tyler Boyd (injured), Jacob Spoonley (released)
Captaincy options: Alessandro Del Piero, Joel Chianese, Richard Garcia
The Sydney revival continued apace last week with a 2-0 win against the hapless Heart at AAMI Park. The Sky Blues will look to make it 3 wins in a row against the visiting Wellington, who are coming off the bye after a 1-1 draw against Perth in Round 5. New signing Ranko Despotovic is in the squad, however he is in competition for a spot on the Bunnings only. Priced at only $200k, he may be worth watching if Sydney can keep this run going. Until he starts, Richard Garcia or Joel Chianese may lead the line ahead of points machine (when fit) Alessandro Del Piero. If you don't have Garcia or Chianese, it's probably not the best move to bring them in now as their impact may be limited in duration, especially Chianese's. Ali Abbas will continue at left back this week as Marc Warren misses again, making him reverse out of position (i.e. the bad kind of OOP). For the Phoenix, Carlos Hernandez continues to show the potential to score points, as according to the official stat sheet, his 20 chances created (from 5 games) is the most in the league. While Jeremy Brockie may not be able to find the net for New Zealand - he is now goalless in 42 games for the All Whites - he is a proven scorer in the A-League (18 from 27 for the Phoenix) and should be considered if you can afford him, with the double round coming up. Just be wary of him being restricted to the bench this weekend.
Last season Wellington drew first blood at home, with Stein Huysegems and Fenton leading the Phoenix to a 2-0 win. Sydney picked up the points in the second game in New Zealand, with Seb Ryall and Rhyan Grant scoring the goals while Brockie added a late consolation from the spot for the Nix. The result in Sydney was incredibly one-sided, with the Del Piero-inspired Sky Blues strolling to a 7-1 win. Del Piero netted four times and also had an assist, while Joel Griffiths, Jason Culina and Yairo Yau also registered; Sigmund the lone scorer for Wellington. For captaincy, if you have Del Piero you surely have to lock him in as captain this round. If you don't, Chianese or Garcia may be a shout.
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United
United unavailable: Daniel Bowles, Paul Izzo (injured), Jordan Elsey, Antony Golec (omitted)
Captaincy options: Archie Thompson, James Troisi
After suffering two defeats on their Sydney road trip, Muscat's Victory will be hoping to turn things around at home against their rivals from SA. The Reds, winless in their last 5 games, will be under pressure to get at least a point in their first of two games in Melbourne this fortnight. However, it's hard on current form to see anything but a Victory win in this game. After his goal streak ended last weekend, James Troisi will be looking to get back among the goals, as will Archie Thompson, while Mitch Nichols is still looking to break his duck this season - with Gui Finkler still waiting to break into the starting XI. Muscat persisted with cheapie Jason Geira last weekend but was not rewarded with an improved performance; I'd make sure you have cover if you've held onto him in case Scott Galloway is favoured this week. Connor Pain may again start if Kosta Barbarouses isn't 100% after representing New Zealand in their 4-2 loss to Mexico. For the Reds, Fabio Ferreira and Jeronimo remain the only solid options at the moment, but with Adelaide's tough upcoming draw - Victory (A), Heart (A), Roar (H), Mariners (H), Perth (A) - I wouldn't be rushing to bring Adelaide players into your side yet. Also the impact of Bruce Djite's return on both of these players remains to be seen.
Earlier this season, the Victory overran a tired Reds side to snatch a 2-2 draw from 2-0 down at Coopers Stadium; Cirio and Jeronimo struck first for Adelaide before Finkler and Troisi pegged it back for the Victory. In the season prior, the Victory picked up the first 3 points, 2-1 in Melbourne via goals from Milligan and Marco Rojas with Dario Vidosic scoring the opener for the Reds, while Adelaide took 6 from 6 in their home games, 4-2 and 1-0. Ferreira scored twice in the 4-2, with the other goals coming from Evan Kostopoulos , Carrusca, Rojas and Andrew Nabbout. Jeronimo meanwhile scored the winner in the final encounter between the sides last season. On current form, I'd only be considering Victory players for captaincy in this fixture. Troisi and Thompson both hit the wall against the Wanderers last week, however they should find Adelaide's high line far more accommodating - assuming Archie can manage to stay onside. Nichols may also be worth a shout, though be wary of Finkler's possible emergence in the starting XI.
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
Mariners unavailable: Tom Slater (injured)
Captaincy options: Sidnei, Ryo Nagai, Marcos Flores, Daniel McBreen
Undefeated since Round 1, the Glory now face the Mariners in their first game under Phil Moss, following Graham Arnold's departure to J.League outfit Vegalta Sendai. Like Muscat at the Victory, I don't see Moss rocking the boat too much early on. I'd be very surprised if he made any significant changes to the Mariners' favoured formation and strategy. Prior to the bye, the Mariners were disappointingly and deservedly beaten 1-0 at home by an undermanned Roar. Daniel McBreen failed to register a shot on target in his first game back, while star fantasy man Marcos Flores worryingly did not shoot for the whole game and created only one chance. The impact of McBreen's return on Flores is something that will need to be monitored closely over the coming weeks, especially with managers looking to bring Mariners players in ahead of their double round. Liam Reddy replaced Justin Pasfield in goal against the Roar, and looked fairly solid. There was little he could do to stop Yeboah's thunderous winner, and probably will retain his spot for the trip to Perth. It'd be a risky move to bring him straight in as Moss may restore Pasfield, but I'm guessing due to his value most coaches will be looking at Reddy in the coming weeks should he remain the #1 keeper. Storm Roux may have to come off the bench this weekend, however no doubt the Mariners will start him if he's in good enough condition. For Perth, there is word that Steve Pantelidis could be on his way to Malaysia soon, though as you can see in the replies the Perth CEO suggests this is nothing more than a rumour. However, he was the one to make way for William Gallas on the weekend, so if you've held onto him make sure you have cover or a plan to move him on anyway. For those who were asking, Gallas is now in the game at $225k - for mine, that is too much money for a centre back with minimal goal threat (most recently, 1 goal in 61 games for Spurs). Jamie Maclaren owners may get another reprieve if Shane Smeltz has to come off the Bunnings, however as we've seen he struggles to make an impact even when given 90 minutes. He either needs to be used as bench cover or moved on. Sidnei, Ryo Nagai and (if played at #10) Steven McGarry are the only consistent goal threats at Perth besides a fully fit Smeltz.
Last season saw the Mariners take the first 6 points on offer with a pair of 1-0 victories, the first off the boot of McBreen and the other courtesy of Bernie Ibini. Perth then shocked Central Coast in Ali Edwards' first game in charge, picking up a 2-1 win at home through goals from Travis Dodd and Smeltz after Ibini had opened the scoring. This looms as a tricky fixture for the Mariners, coming back from a week off and under a new manager. I'd be cautious of making anyone in this game captain considering there are far stronger options elsewhere, though for Perth Sidnei and Nagai are probably the most likely scorers while Flores and McBreen may be worth a punt for the Mariners.
Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Heart
Heart unavailable: Orlando Engelaar, Dylan Macallister, Harry Kewell, Jonatan Germano, Jason Hoffman (injured)
Captaincy options: Adam Taggart, Andrew Hoole
The final fixture of the round sees the in-form Jets given the team everyone wants to play at the moment, the Melbourne Heart. The Heart are just hopeless at the moment, especially in front of goal - the Jets from a few rounds ago could empathise - and there's little evidence that they'll turn it around against the Jets this Sunday. The Heart haven't scored aside from in Round 2, so I'd be steering clear of bringing in any Heart players unless you are convinced they are going to suddenly come good. Granted, a Heart win here is exactly the type of insane result the A-League likes to throw at us sometimes, but it'd be total madness in my opinion to be factoring it into your team selections. If you have Michael Mifsud or David Williams, perhaps hold on to them until next week when the Heart are at home to Adelaide, and we have the crazy situation of a team that can't score squaring off against a team that can't stop conceding. If Mifsud and Williams fail to register in that game, I'd probably say you're justified in giving up on them. For the Jets, Adam Taggart has emerged as a forward option, despite Emile Heskey looming, with 3 goals and an assist from his last 3 games. At $203k he is hard to look past, but I'd suggest being wary of falling into the trap of chasing points before jumping in with both feet. That said, it's hard to see him not having an impact against the Heart. Elsewhere, the Jets provide us with few options other than cheapie defenders such as Sam Gallaway (who will return this round after a slight injury concern ruled him out late last weekend) and out of position prospect Andrew Hoole. For those in search of defenders with better job security (should such a thing exist at the Jets), Scott Neville is slightly more expensive but still at a nice price.
Last season a late Ryan Griffiths penalty earned the Jets a point in a 3-3 draw at AAMI Park, where scorers included the now-forgotten Craig Goodwin, Ruben Zadkovich, Josip Tadic and a brace from Richard Garcia. The Heart then took the points in the follow up encounter at AAMI Park, with Tadic and Griffiths again netting while Golgol Mebrahtu also notched a goal. Griffiths found the back of the Heart net a third time to lead the Jets to a 2-0 win in Newcastle, with Heskey opening the scoring in that game. The Jets, who are almost guaranteed to keep a clean sheet here, provide a couple of interesting captaincy options. It's hard to see Taggart being dropped for Heskey on current form, however GvE may look to shift things around to accommodate them both. This could be a worry for Hoole, who otherwise looks a very strong option for the armband. I think he's too risky to make captain but if he starts, he's probably at least getting you six points and possibly more.