Preview: Newcastle Jets vs. Wellington Phoenix - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams in contrasting form come head-to-head on Sunday morning as Newcastle Jets host Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A-League.

Craig Deans's men saw off Melbourne Victory 1-0 last time out, while the visitors fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the same opposition.

Match preview

The Jets got off to a disastrous start in the current campaign, losing their opening four league matches.

However, the McDonald Jones Stadium outfit have recovered well to go unbeaten in their following five fixtures.

Eleven points from their opening nine encounters has Deans's side sitting in ninth position in the top-flight standings and has rekindled their ambitions of achieving a place in the playoffs come the end of the season.

Although their defence has remained a solid unit throughout 2020-21, their attack has been far less productive. Newcastle have scored just eight goals so far this season and will be an area of great concern to the Jets faithful.

The Phoenix finished in third place in 2019-20 following a very successful campaign, before being defeated in the first round of the playoffs by Perth Glory.

Ufuk Talay's men would have been hoping to go one better this time around, but a dreadful opening eight games have put a serious dent in those aspirations.

A 2-0 defeat thanks to a Rudy Gestede brace last time out was Wellington's fifth of the season and left them rooted to the foot of the division.

Three points on Sunday could see them climb off the bottom of the table and kickstart their struggling and stuttering campaign.

Newcastle Jets Australian A-League form: LWDWDW

Wellington Phoenix Australian A-League form: LWLLDL

Team News

The Jets will once again be without the services of long-term absentee Ben Kantarovski. The defensive midfielder has yet to make an appearance in 2020-21 due to injury and has failed to recover in time for this one.

He is joined on the treatment table by centre-forward Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and winger Jason Hoffman, who are both suffering from respective issues.

Former Brighton striker Tomer Hemed is ruled out of this one after picking up an injury earlier in the month.

Centre-back Luke DeVere and forward Jaushua Sautirio are also unavailable for the New Zealand outfit.

Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Duncan; O'Toole, Topor-Stanley, Jackson, Koutroumbis; Ugarkovic, Petratos, Thurgate; Najjarine, O'Donovan, Yuel

Wellington Phoenix possible starting lineup:
Sail; McGarry, McGing, Payne, Fenton; Rufer, Lewis, Davila, Piscopo; Waine, Muratovic

We say: Newcastle Jets 2-1 Wellington Phoenix

These are two teams in contrasting form, and we expect the result to reflect their recent performances. The Phoenix will be desperate for a positive display, but we fancy the hosts to get the job done and secure all three points.