Newcastle Jets will host Wellington Phoenix in their third match of the A-League this season.
Venue: Newcastle International Sports Centre
Key statistics
- Newcastle Jets are unbeaten in 5 of their last 7 matches across all competitions.
- Newcastle are yet to open their account in A-League this season (D2 L1)
- Wellington Phoenix are unbeaten in 14 of their last 15 games in all competitions.
- The Nix haven’t tasted a defeat in their last 9 away games across all competitions.
Head to Head record
Wellington Phoenix have a better record against Newcastle United, winning 22 out of the 40 games played between the two. Newcastle have managed only 13 victories. The two sides last met earlier this year in February, with the Nix winning the game 2-0.
Latest performances in all competitions.
Newcastle Jets: L L L D
Wellington Phoenix: D W L W
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle Jets’ start to A-League this season hasn’t gone as planned, as they are yet to register their first win.
After losing their opener against Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle have produced back to back draws against Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC.
The game against Sydney FC was a thrilling one, as Valentino Yuel’s brace in the second half helped Newcastle produce a come-back draw.
The South Sudanese forward has already scored three goals in three appearances this season and would look to make an impact against Wellington Phoenix.
The home side are currently 10th in the table but would look to move further up by winning Friday’s game.
Possible Newcastle Jets line-up
Jack Duncan; Jason Hoffman, Matthew Jurman, Jordan Elsey, Dane Ingham; Kosta Grozos; Daniel Penha, Angus Thurgate, Savvas Siatravanis, Olivier Boumal; Beka Mikeltadze
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix are off to a mixed start, picking up a win, draw and a defeat in three games so far.
The New-Zealand based club picked up their first win against Central Coast Mariners before losing to Western Sydney Wanderers last week.
Their momentum could be slightly down ahead of Friday’s clash against Newcastle but they boast an impressive away record ( unbeaten in 14 out of 15 games).
Furthermore, the Nix picked up a comprehensive win over Newcastle in their previous meeting, which happened earlier this year.
Wellington, currently 7 in the table, could look to move to the top-four after Friday’s game. They finished seventh in A-League last season but would look to push the boundaries this time around.
Possible Wellington Phoenix line-up:
Oliver Sail; James McGarry, Joshua Laws, Tim Payne, Callan Elliot; Alex Rufer, Clayton Lewis, Reno Piscopo, David Ball; Jaushua Sotirio, Gary Hooper
Injured: Sam Sutton, Callan Elliott
Doubtful: Jaushua Sotirio
Suspended: None
Prediction
Newcastle Jets 1 – 1 Wellington Phoenix.
