Adelaide’s Spanish midfielder Isaias has been cleared of injury and will play in Friday night’s A-League elimination final against Brisbane Roar.
The playmaker missed training earlier in the week because of an ankle injury but coach Josep Gombau on Thursday declared him a certain starter in the sudden-death Adelaide Oval final.
Gombau confirmed the Reds will be without frontman Bruce Djite because of a groin strain but was content he has the scoring firepower to cover his absence.
He nominated Spanish trio Sergio Cirio, Pablo Sanchez and Miguel Palanca as potential replacements for a knockout bout at a venue which has caused controversy.
Brisbane Roar have made a whopping nine changes for tonight’s match.
The defending champions recalled a senior core including Matt McKay, Thomas Broich and Luke Brattan after fielding an inexperienced line-up in their last game, a win over Newcastle Jets.
But Roar coach Frans Thijssen, who is also juggling his club’s Asian Champions League campaign, says the changes won’t result in an unsettled side for the knockout fixture at Adelaide Oval.
Gombau and Adelaide players earlier voiced disapproval of the final being staged at Adelaide Oval rather than their home ground, Coopers Stadium at Hindmarsh.
But after two training sessions at the oval, Gombau says he’s now satisfied with the switch, enforced by Football Federation Australia.
“We spoke a lot about this earlier in the week and now is not the moment to speak about this, it’s more a moment tomorrow,” Gombau told reporters.
“I know some fans are upset because we are not playing at Coopers and I can understand why they are upset. They need to be good fans, real fans, and come to support our boys.
“The decision is not what we want but we need to respect it. We need to play and we need to win.”
Gombau and his captain Eugene Galekovic said Adelaide, who finished third, were wary of the sixth-placed Roar, who only snuck into the finals because of Perth Glory’s expulsion as punishment for salary cap cheating.
Galekovic dismissed suggestions the defending champions Roar made the finals by default.
“I don’t know if you would call it default, a team broke a rule so they’re in – legit,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“We haven’t really talked about them too much. We’re more worried about ourselves and I think we can beat anyone on our day.”
FRIDAY, May 1
Adelaide United v Brisbane Roar at Adelaide Oval 7.30pm
Head to Head: Adelaide 11 Brisbane 13 drawn 8
Last clash: 11/4/15: Adelaide 2 Brisbane 3
Tab Sportsbet: Adelaide $1.87 Brisbane $4.00
Adelaide, the finals flops, host Brisbane, the finals specialists. The Reds have won just four of 19 finals while the Roar have won the championship in three of the past four seasons. Both teams are attack-minded and are the slickest passing outfits in the league – Brisbane’s season passing accuracy (82.1 per cent) is the benchmark with Adelaide (81.7 per cent) next-best. Both possess creative and efficient midfields, and have genuine firepower up front. But Brisbane’s injury worries in defence – they’re missing three first-choice stoppers – looms as decisive.
Key: Which midfield creator – Brisbane’s Thomas Broich or Adelaide’s Marcelo Carrusca – can leave the biggest imprint? Both have a touch of genius and, if afforded any time and space, can slice through any opposition.
Tip: Adelaide
SUNDAY, May 3
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City at Westpac Stadium 5.00pm
Head to Head: Phoenix 6 Melbourne City 3 drawn 6
Last clash: 12/4/15: Wellington 0 Melbourne City 0
Tab Sportsbet: Phoenix $1.95 Melbourne City $3.50
There’s no doubt Wellington have the wood on City, who have triumphed in just one of the past 11 clashes with the New Zealanders. But five of those have been draws, including the two most recent fixture. The Phoenix also enter the finals with only one win from their past five outings – so a case can be made for City. But the Melbourne outfit have also banked a solitary win from their past five fixtures and are in something of scoring drought: in their past six games, they haven’t scored more than once. City also are overly-reliant on the attacking prowess of Aaron Mooy, who has netted seven times this season – four more than any of his teammates. If Phoenix can shut him down, they’ll be on a path to the semi-finals.
Key: Can City quell Wellington’s attack? Led by ace striker Nathan Burns, who has scored 13 goals in a stellar season, and featuring the likes of Roy Krishna, Michael McGlinchey and Kenny Cunningham, the Phoenix appear to have too many attacking weapons for City to silence.
Tip: Phoenix
– with AAP
