Western United vs Western Sydney Wanderers 07/08/20

07 August 2020

Western United welcome Western Sydney Wanderers to Jubilee Oval this week, looking to maintain an unbeaten run in their A-League H2Hs (W1, D1).

A narrow 1-0 away loss to Newcastle Jets last time out brought Western United’s three-game winning run in A-League to a halt, which also means all three of their previous top-flight defeats were ‘to nil.’ After being held to a 1-1 draw to Perth Glory in their first-ever home match in A-League, it’s been pretty much ‘all or nothing’ for Mark Rudan’s side afterward. Indeed, none of the ten of their subsequent league home fixtures has ended in a stalemate (W4, L6), with seven of those games producing over 2.5 goals. Yet, slow-starting Western United have shipped the opening goal in eight of 11 A-League home outings this season (72.73%), going on to lose six such matches (W2).

Meanwhile, the visitors have won only once in their last six league fixtures (D3, L1), conceding the opener on four of those occasions. Allowing the first goal would probably mean an end to WS Wanderers’ hopes of winning. They’ve lost all but one of six A-League away matches in which they conceded first (D1). Away from home in A-League, the ‘Wanderers’ are winless in three consecutive games (D2, L1). Their overall away record for the season stands at W4, D2, L6, mainly thanks to a genuine lack of firepower upfront. In fact, Jean-Paul de Marigny’s men have netted under 1.5 goals in nine of 12 league trips this term (75%), with the majority (63.16%) of their away goals scored coming in the second half of play (12/19).