Wellington Phoenix will be in full contention for the regular season title, taking on Newcastle Jets away!
After beating Melbourne last weekend, Wellington Phoenix are in high spirits and will continue their push for the regular season title!
In this round, Phoenix will take on the Newcastle Jets away. The head coach stressed that the atmosphere in the training this week remained focused and not let up because of last week's victory.
"We are now putting all our attention on Newcastle," Italy's Arno told the media via video conference on Thursday. "I don't see any complacency this week. ”
"This team is very pragmatic. They will certainly enjoy last week's victory, but it will be business as usual when they return to training on Sunday. ”
'I think at the beginning of the season I might be more worried about complacency, but I don't think that's something I need to worry about anymore as this team matures. ”
Phoenix are currently tied with the Coast Mariners on points and tied for top of the A-League standings. They need to pick up at least one point before the Central Coast Mariners take on Adelaide United on Sunday to stay top of the table.
The Jets will host the Mariners in the final round, and they will play a big role in the battle for who will win the regular season title.
"There could be a lot of things going on right now," the coach said. 'I don't want to go there and beat them big because that will affect their confidence next week. ”
"But at the same time, I want to win the game. I think it's going to be a tough game. They were one of our toughest opponents in pre-season friendlies and in the first game of the first round of home defeats. Even the last time we played them at home, it was a last-minute winner. ”
'If you look at their record in the last three weeks, they've drawn with Melbourne City, beaten Sydney and Brisbane, so they're in good form. ”
Striker Zawada has recovered from a thigh contusion and is travelling with the team to Newcastle. According to the head coach, Zavada has been eager to return to the team and contribute.
'He's received a lot of requests to leave this season but I think a big goal for him this season is to create some legends of his own at the club and he still has a chance to do that. ”
Zavada's last appearance for Phoenix was in the round of 18 and he won't be considered in the starting line-up this Friday.
summary
When the two teams met in January, the Jets lost 2-1 at home to Wellington. The Jets have doubts about their fighting intentions after losing the opportunity to make the playoffs, and it is likely that they will focus on training. We're expecting Wellington to win.