Perth Glory vs Wellington Phoenix Prediction: Taggart to notch against the Nix again

Back-to-back Australian A-League Men’s wooden spooners Perth Glory will be hoping for a change in fortunes this season, starting on Saturday (11:45 BST, TNT Sports 5), when they welcome Wellington Phoenix to HBF Park.

Below are my Perth Glory vs Wellington Phoenix predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this opening weekend fixture.

Team News

Perth Glory head coach David Zdrilic has confirmed that the club’s headline off-season signing, Manchester United Academy graduate and former Glasgow Rangers and Derby County attacker Tom Lawrence, will sit out his new side’s season opener.

“He won’t play on the weekend ... we’re really looking forward to him playing, but he’ll play when he’s ready. He’s looking very good in training so far,” Zdrilic said.

Another new signing, left wing-back Sam Sutton, who has joined from this weekend’s opponents, has been ruled out of action until at least mid-November. Zdrilic said: “It was his knee, but it’s sort of a quad - it’s a little bit difficult to explain. It’s a unique thing, but it’s not as bad as what we thought.”

Goalkeeper Mark Birighetti, who was also poised to make his league debut, is sidelined, too, having sustained a knee injury. Cameron Cook, who made six league appearances last season, is likely to start on Saturday if the 34-year-old fails to recover from his issue, although Matt Sutton has been drafted in as a short-term replacement.

Zach Lisolajski (hamstring) also misses out, as do central midfielders Callum Timmins and Luke Amos (both unspecified).

Brian Kaltack, Callum Timmins, Arion Sulemani, Jaiden Kucharski, Gabriel Popovic, Charbel Awni Shamoon and Rhys Bozinovski are all in line to make their league debuts for the Glory.

Football Odds

Wellington’s off-season business included signing Carlo Armiento, Ifeanyi Eze, Nikola Mileusnic, Manjrekar James, Daniel Edwards and Ramy Najjarine.

A host of players departed, though, notably Sutton and top goalscorer Kosta Barbarouses.

Mileusnic, Paulo Retre and Alby Kelly-Heald (all unspecified) are out injured for Giancarlo Italiano's side.

Perth Glory vs Wellington Phoenix Odds

Glory won the last league fixture between the two teams at Sky Stadium in May (0-2), and Zdrilic's side are 5/6 to triumph on their home turf this weekend, implying a 54.5% probability of success. The Nix, meanwhile, are 13/5, or a 27.8% chance, to claim all three points at HBF Park, as they did on October 26 last year (0-2).

The draw is priced at 13/5, too, with both teams to score available at 8/15.

Anytime Goalscorer - Adam Taggart (PER) @ 1/1

This isn’t the most eye-catching price of all time, but I’ll take EVS on Adam Taggart to score anytime at home against last season’s third-worst side, who he has struck three times past across two appearances this calendar year, all day long.

Taggart was a shining light in a dismal 2024/25 campaign for the Glory, netting 10 ALM goals - six more than closest teammate Jaylan Pearman, who has since moved to EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

The 32-year-old, who won the Golden Boot in 2023/24 with 20 goals, will be hoping the addition of Lawrence can help him reach those heights of two seasons ago.

Today's Football Fixtures

Lawrence won’t be featuring at HBF Park this Saturday, of course, but while that takes away some creativity, it does make Taggart the outstanding Glory candidate - by a long stretch - to find the net against the Nix.

The 21-time Australia international bagged a brace in the last league fixture between the two teams, as the Glory ran out 2-0 winners in Wellington on May 4, and he was on the scoresheet again on July 27 as the sides met in the Australia Cup round of 32 (1-1, the Nix won 8-7 on pens).

Taggart has an enviable goalscoring record against Wellington, notching nine times in 17 appearances - only against Adelaide United (12), Melbourne City and Newcastle Jets (both 11) has he scored more goals.

Player to Receive a Card - Joshua Risdon (PER) @ 15/8

Glory right-back Joshua Risdon loves a booking.

The 33-year-old received seven, 10 and 11 ALM yellows in his final three seasons at Western United, despite only making 21, 22 and 21 appearances, respectively.

He joined Glory at the start of last season and ended up playing 18 times, 15 as a starter. He was cautioned five times, but none were against the Nix, as he was injured for both league games.

However, Risdon was booked when the sides met at HBF Park in the Australia Cup on July 27. He was shown a yellow for his first offence, on Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues in the 26th minute, and went on to commit a further three fouls.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down