Preview: Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Wellington Phoenix
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Wellington Phoenix
Tuesday 2 August 2016
Campbelltown Stadium, Leumeah (NSW)
Kick-off: 8.00pm local (8:00pm AEST)
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referee 1: James Tesoriero
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev
Fourth Official: Ben Abraham
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now
Radio Broadcast: Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM or online at hawkesburyradio.com.au
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #WSWvWEL #FFACup
Western Sydney Wanderers FC squad: 1.Jerrad Tyson (gk), 2.Shannon Cole, 3.Scott Jamieson, 4.Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5.Brendan Hamill, 6.Mitch Nichols, 7.Steven Lustica, 8.Dimas Delgado, 11.Brendon Santalab, 12.Scott Neville, 13.Bruno Piñtares, 14.Jumpei Kusukami, 15.Kearyn Baccus, 16.Jaushua Sotirio, 17.Aritz Borda, 18.Robert Cornthwaite, 20.Andrew Redmayne (gk), 21.Mario Shabow, 22.Jonathan Aspropotamitis, 23.Lachlan Scott, 25.Liam Youlley, 26.Jackson Bandiera
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Glen Moss (gk), 4.Roly Bonevacia, 6.Dylan Fox, 7.Guilherme Finkler, 8.Alex Rodriguez, 9.Kosta Barbarouses, 10.Michael McGlinchey, 15.James McGarry, 16.Louis Fenton, 17.Vince Lia, 19.Tom Doyle, 21.Roy Krishna, 22.Andrew Durante, 23.Matthew Ridenton, 24.Logan Rogerson, 26.Hamish Watson, 30.Oliver Sail (gk), 32.Sarpreet Singh, 46.Jack-Henry Sinclair
Bluffer's Guide
Another year, another rebuild for the Wanderers, with Tuesday night the first chance to have a good look at Tony Popovic's squad renovation (though they played behind closed doors last Friday on the Gold Coast, defeating Roar 2-1 at Cbus).
It will be interesting to get a look at new boys Uruguayan Bruno Pintares, Japanese Jumpei Kusukami and Spanish defender Aritz Borda.
For their opponents, they are also in a building phase after missing the A-League finals last season.
The FFA Cup hasn't been a great competition for the 'Nix over the last two seasons but coach Ernie Merrick will hope a good run in this competition will be the catalyst to an upturn in fortunes over the next 12 months.
New faces include ex-Melbourne Victory duo Gui Finkler and Kosta Barbarouses, while Dutchman Roly Bonevacia always has that ability to change a game on his own.
A rather low-key build-up means neither side will know much about how the other is travelling but you can be sure they'll want to make an early statement in this all-A-League battle.
Could 2016 be the year of the red and black in the Cup?