Perth Glory vs Western United Prediction: Back United in battle of last season’s basement boys

The two worst sides in the Australian A-League Men's last season meet at Allianz Stadium on Friday (06:30, TNT Sports 2) as Perth Glory host Western United. Both clubs are winless after four league games played this term, so the early signs are that it could be another long campaign ahead for them.

Below is my Perth Glory vs Western United prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of the 2024 Unite Round, which sees every men's club playing at Sydney FC's Allianz Stadium.

Team News

Veteran Perth Glory forward David Williams missed his side's 5-0 hammering by Melbourne City last time out but is back in David Zdrilic's squad for Friday's trip to Sydney.

Belgian defender Anas Hamzaoui is also back in the long list following a two-game absence, while Joshua Risdon is looking to make his league debut for the Glory against the side he left in the off-season.

Japanese midfielder Hiroaki Aoyama is also back in the reckoning after missing the Melbourne City defeat at HBF Park.

Mustafa Amini and Nikola Mileusnic remain injured and unavailable for selection.

Football Odds

James Donachie and Khoder Kaddour are still out injured for Western United. However, head coach John Aloisi can call on Australian forwards Ramy Najjarine and Michael Ruhs for the first time this season following the pair's returns from their own issues.

Perth Glory vs Western United Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Perth Glory vs Western United page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Perth Glory are 9/4 to triumph in this battle of last season's basement boys, which gives them an implied win probability of 30.8%, while Western United are 10/11, or a 52.4% chance, to take all three points back to Tarneit.

The draw is priced at 13/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 3.5 total goals at 5/4.

Western United striker Hiroshi Ibusuki (5/4) leads the anytime goalscorer market followed by Perth Glory forward and reigning A-League Men's Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart (7/5).

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Western United & Yes @ 11/5

Home advantage is taken out of the equation here due to the contest being played in Sydney, so that's something we don't have to factor into our thinking.

Just looking at the form of both this season, things don't look promising.

Perth have suffered heavy defeats away to Macarthur (6-1) and at home to Melbourne City (0-5) either side of an HBF Park loss to Wellington Phoenix (0-2) and a goalless draw with Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.

Western United, meanwhile, kicked off their campaign with a couple of 1-1 draws, away to Wellington Phoenix and at home to Western Sydney Wanderers before losing back-to-back matches against Melbourne City (0-1) and Adelaide United (2-1).

Only a point separates the sides in the table but looking at the scorelines, there's been a lot more encouragement for Western United, who are yet to be beaten by more than a goal.

United also dominate the recent head-to-head record, winning all four meetings since the start of 2023, including both last season - triumphing 1-0 in Ballarat in March before edging a seven-goal thriller (3-4) at HBF Park the following month.

The Glory have scored in three of those four defeats and won their final head-to-head of 2022 by a 2-1 scoreline, meaning both teams have scored in four of those last five meetings.

Neither side has been prolific so far - Perth have scored just once while United only have three goals to their name, albeit they have scored exactly once in three of their four league outings, with BTTS - Yes landing in all three.

However, this is a game that both will be targeting all three points in, partly due to the fact neither have won this season and partly due to the close proximity of their league positions in 2023/24, with just four points separating 11th-placed United from wooden spooners Perth.

I think we'll see both teams on the scoresheet on Friday, but United have the upper hand mentally given their recent record against the Glory, and they've also performed better this season, so I'm backing Aloisi's side to come out on top in a game full of goals.

Anytime Goalscorer - Adam Taggart (PGL) @ 7/5

I'm backing the Glory to score, so it only makes sense to plump for their main man, Taggart, to find the net, especially as I'm struggling to pick any other player that could. Adam Bugarija has struck Perth's only goal of the season so far but the 19-year-old didn't even come off the bench in their November 10 hammering by Melbourne City.

Therefore, Taggart is who I'm hanging my hat on this week, and considering he's over EVS, which isn't always a given, I think he's well worth backing to get off the mark this season.

The 31-year-old bagged a brace in the last head-to-head between these sides in April en route to claiming the A-League Men's Golden Boot award. He scored 20 times in 25 appearances, a stunning record considering his side finished rock-bottom.

It could be another season of struggle for the Australia international and his prospects of emulating last season's achievements already appear slim, but Friday marks the perfect opportunity for him to reannounce himself to the rest of the division and spark a revival for the Glory.

Western United are yet to keep a clean sheet in 2024/25 and if they don't fix up at the back this week I'd expect Taggart to punish them.

Offers

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