A fixture change will see the Jets bring in the New Year against Adelaide United, as they look to snare three points on Monday morning.
For the women, they’re hunting for a first competitive win since Round 4 and three points which would propel them up a still-packed Westfield W-League ladder.
Their last outing the league was against Perth Glory, a 2-2 draw where the Jets played with just ten for the majority of the match.
FIXTURE: Changes due to forecasted heat
SQUAD: The 16 named for Sunday
After a pair of friendlies against the China national team, the side will be raring to get back into the cycle of competitive football and charge towards the finals.
This weekend’s opponents, Adelaide United, are in a position the Jets wouldn’t mind occupying – 4th place.
They’ve had a bit of a mixed bag of results these last few weeks. The Reds knocked off league leaders, Melbourne Victory last weekend but were pummelled 5-2 by Sydney FC the week prior.
Team news
Those friendlies against the China national team allowed Deans to tinker with his squad, allowing both game time to players who needed a run and time off to players that needed a rest.
Gema Simon and Katie Stengel were rested for both matches, which has ensured the star pair are back at full fitness for this weekend’s massive match.
One player who will be back in the mix is Tara Andrews, who has been named in the squad following her recovery from an ankle injury.
The Jets will be without Taylor Smith on Sunday and for the rest of the season, after she ruptured her ACL in the draw with Perth.
Larissa Crummer will also miss this week through suspension.
From the boss
“We played two really good games against really good opposition on the Gold Coast, which will prepare us well for this weekend,” Craig Deans said on Thursday.
“With Taylor, as far as picking a team go she’s out of the picture. We’ve got enough flexibility in the players that we can cover Larissa in the back four, and we used one of the games against China to start working on that.
“We beat Canberra and Western Sydney with a couple of key players unavailable, so we’re not worried about that. We know that losing one or two players doesn’t mean we can’t win a game.
“Adelaide made a good start to the season and probably exceeded everyone’s expectations… Michelle Heyman has gone there from Canberra and made a big difference.
“They’re a very hard working team and very well organised, so we need to make sure we can match their work ethic and determination to win, and we have enough quality players to score goals.”
