Preview: Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Brisbane Roar - prediction, team news, lineups

Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar square off on Friday with the two sides occupying the mid-table positions in the A-League standings.

However, while Wanderers hold a five-point advantage in sixth place, the visitors currently possess three games in hand on their hosts.

Match preview

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On the back of four matches without success, Carl Robinson will be frustrated that Wanderers now find themselves off the pace in the title race.

Two of the draws during that period were recorded after holding leads, adding to the disappointment currently being felt at the Bankwest Stadium.

On a positive note, their latest stalemate at fourth-placed Adelaide United came courtesy of a second-half equaliser through Simon Cox, who ended a two-month wait for a goal in the process.

Sitting just five points adrift of Central Coast Mariners having played a game more than the leaders, victory on Friday would get Robinson's side back on track.

However, another fixture without maximum points would leave the club at risk of being pulled into the bottom half of the standings, undoing the team's hard work during the early stages of the campaign.

Brisbane Roar have endured an equally frustrating period with eight games without a win leaving the club in the bottom half of the table.

That streak came to an end last week as Roar posted a 2-1 win over Macarthur, ending the three-match winning streak of their hosts at the same time.

Warren Moon will be delighted that his team have recorded their first success since February 6, a result which gives them the opportunity to make further progress up the table if they prevail in their games in hand.

These two teams are no strangers to each other, having played out a 1-1 draw as recently as April 3.

Team News

Wanderers will be without youngster Mark Natta, who is serving a suspension after his red card against Adelaide.

Tass Mourdoukoutas is likely to start in place of the teenager, while Cox could earn a recall after coming off the substitutes' bench to score in the last game.

Moon may stick with the Roar XI which impressed in the clash with Macarthur, keeping faith in a side which outclassed higher-ranked opponents.

Riku Danzaki has now scored in successive matches, ending a run of seven outings without finding the back of the net.

Western Sydney Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Margush; Gordon, Ziegler, Mourdoukoutas; Aquilina, Baccus, Dorrans, Troisi, Wilmering; Cox, Duke

Brisbane Roar possible starting lineup:
Young; Neville, Aldred, Gillesphey; Brindell-South, O'Shea, Akbari, Brown; Danzaki, Wenzel-Halls, Champness

We say: Western Sydney Wanderers 1-1 Brisbane Roar

Having recorded too many draws of late, another stalemate will not necessarily benefit the home side. However, both teams have been in good form of late, leading us to predict a competitive share of the spoils.