Brisbane Roar Head Coach John Aloisi has named a strong 18-player preliminary squad for the trip west to take on Perth Glory in their Hyundai A-League Round 20 clash on Saturday (8.40pm KO Qld time).
The squad includes Shane Stefanutto, who has been sidelined for two weeks with a groin strain, and Jamie Maclaren, who was load managing hamstring tightness earlier this week.
The Roar players will have a short sharp training session on Friday morning before their flight to Perth.
The match is the first of consecutive away games for the Roar. They travel to Adelaide in Round 21.
Brisbane then faces a Massive March in which they host Western Sydney, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC in addition to an away fixture against Melbourne City.
To book your tickets to the three huge home games in March click here
If selected this weekend, Roar defender Jade North will notch his 300th game across the Hyundai A-League and its predecessor, the National Soccer League.
North (below) has played 169 Hyundai A-League games, 70 of them with Brisbane Roar.
Goalkeeper Michael Theo is also poised to notch a milestone this week with his 200th game in the Hyundai A-League – 128 of which have been with the Roar.
Both were named in the 18-player Roar squad today.
The Roar have faced the Glory twice this season for two wins, both at home.
In January the Roar beat Perth 2-1 with Brisbane striker Jamie Maclaren netting against his former club. The other Roar scorer was Henrique.
Henrique also found the net in the Roar’s 1-0 win over the Glory in November.
But Perth are one of the most improved sides in the second half of the season, boosted by the return of Irish striker Andy Keogh, and are chasing a club-record fifth consecutive Hyundai A-League win.
Their scalps over the last month include Sydney FC (away), Wellington (away), Melbourne Victory (home) and Newcastle Jets (away). They had a 2-2 draw with Melbourne City prior to those games.
Brisbane are also in form and have netted nine goals in the past three games (two wins and a draw).
The match will be special for the Roar’s Dimitri Petratos (below) who will be pitted against his younger brother Kosta, who has played off the bench for the Glory in the last two games.
They are the 10th set of brothers to face off in nearly 11 seasons of the Hyundai A-League.
Hyundai A-League Round 20, Perth Glory FC v Brisbane Roar FC, nib Stadium, Perth, Saturday, 20 February (8.40pm KO Qld time)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.CORONA, 8.Steven LUSTICA, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.HENRIQUE, 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Daniel BOWLES, 15.James DONACHIE, 17.Matt McKAY (c), 18.Javier HERVAS, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Shannon BRADY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO **two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Shane STEFANUTTO (return from injury), 20.Shannon BRADY (promoted); Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Jerome POLENZ (quadricep muscle – 7 weeks), 11.Jean Carlos SOLORZANO (quadricep muscle – 5 weeks)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18. Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 21.Kosta PETRATOS, 23.Krisztian VADOCZ, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS **two to be omitted**
Ins: 6.Dino DJULBIC (returns from injury), 18.Mitch OXBORROW (returns from illness); Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite)
Referee: Strebre Delovski; Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis; Assistant Referee 2: Josh Mannella; Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 8.30pm (Qld time) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio: 720 ABC Perth, 612 ABC Brisbane, ABC Local Radio WA, ABC Local Radio Qld, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvBRI
