Perth Glory vs Sydney Prediction: No Lolley, no party for Sky Blues

After failing to win any of their first four games this season (D1, L3), Perth Glory have now chalked up three consecutive victories in the Australian A-League Men's. On Saturday (10:45 GMT, TNT Sports 2), at HBF Park, they go in search of a fourth straight success, but they face Sydney FC, who made it five wins out of seven last weekend to move top of the table heading into the eighth round of fixtures.

Below are my Perth Glory vs Sydney predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

The big news for Perth Glory is that Sam Sutton, an off-season signing from Wellington Phoenix, is available to make his league debut for the club after recovering from injury.

Luke Amos is still not up to full fitness, so he misses out again, as do Lachlan Wales, Zach Lisolajski (both hamstring), Joel Anasmo (Achilles) and Cameron Cook (knee), while Trent Ostler is suspended following his red card in last Saturday's 1-0 win against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Football Odds

Sydney have suffered a major injury blow, with four-goal winger Joe Lolley (hamstring) ruled out of the trip to Perth, joining Paul Okon-Engstler (quad) in the treatment room.

Perth Glory vs Sydney Odds

Perth Glory are 12/5, or a 29.4% chance, to record a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday, with Sydney priced at 9/10 (52.6%) to make it back-to-back wins, while the draw is offered at 13/5.

Match Result - Perth Glory @ 12/5

The absence of Lolley for Sydney cannot be understated.

The 33-year-old has had a direct hand in six of the Sky Blues' 14 league goals this season, scoring four times and registering two assists.

In Lolley and Okon-Engstler, Ufuk Talay is deprived of two key starters on Saturday, and Glory, targeting a fourth successive win, will be smelling blood.

Today's Football Fixtures

Interim boss Adam Griffiths has made no secret of his desire to secure the job on a full-time basis, and another victory this weekend could wrap it up for him just in time for Christmas.

The first of the three wins was an edgy one against Newcastle Jets as they had to come from a goal down, securing the three points from the penalty spot.

Wins two and three were particularly impressive as they kept clean sheets in both, beating Macarthur FC 2-0 in Sydney, and Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at home, despite going down to 10 men in the 40th minute of the latter game.

Glory are still missing a few players themselves, but none as important as Lolley and Okon-Engslter for Sydney, with their two main attacking threats, Adam Taggart and Tom Lawrence, available to them.

Sydney have lost twice this season, and both defeats have been away from home as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Adelaide United and were edged out 1-0 by the Wanderers.

The Sky Blues have failed to win on their last three visits to HBF Park, with all three meetings ending in a draw, but shorn of the services of Lolley this weekend, I think they'll struggle to come away with anything from this game.

Player to Receive a Card - Charbel Shamoon (PER) @ 11/4

This may be a brave selection as Charbel Shamoon has only ever received one yellow card in 28 ALM appearances combined for his previous club, Western United, and his current side, Glory.

However, if Abel Waletee starts, as I expect him to, on the right-hand side of Sydney's attack on Saturday, Shamoon could be in for a tough game.

Walatee is yet to start this season, but he's averaging 0.9 fouls per game, and he's been upended five times across his last three substitute appearances.

Central Coast Mariners' Brad Tapp and Wanderers' Gabriel Cleur have both been booked in 2025/26 for an unfair challenge on Walatee, who has done most of his work so far this term on the left.

However, with Lolley out, Walatee could start on the right, and that makes him a dangerous proposition for Shamoon, who has committed at least one foul in three of his last four matches.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW7)

 P/L: +8.88%