Aussies Abroad Preview: Several players return to action this weekend
There will be plenty more Aussies in action this weekend as the Danish Superligaen, Israeli Premier League and Serbian SuperLiga all resume their respective campaigns.
Mustafa Amini, Alex Gersbach and Zach Duncan are all primed to return to the pitch for AGF Aarhus as they restart their campaign against Randers FC on Friday morning at 3am*.
Aarhus sit in third place on the Superligaen ladder and have three matches left to play this season.
They are in firm contention to secure a place in the championship playoffs however their upcoming match against 7th placed Randers could potentially cause them some issues given that they have not beaten their visitors in their last 10 meetings.
Socceroos striker Awer Mabil will also feature in the Danish top flight as his table topping FC Midtjylland host Horsens at 12am on Tuesday morning.
Midtjylland have a healthy lead at the top of the table with 12 points separating them from second placed FC Kobenhavn.
Horsens currently occupy 10th spot in the 14 team competition and won’t be looking forward to their trip to the league leaders who have been victorious in their last seven match-ups.
The Serbian SuperLiga will resume this weekend, so this will be our first chance to see Milos Degenek in action as his FK Crvena zvezda side face off against Rad Beograd at 3:30am on Saturday.
Degenek’s side have an 11 point lead at the top of the table with four league matches remaining.
Their opponents sit in 15th position on the ladder and occupy one of the two relegation spots.
If Degenek’s men beat Rad then his side would secure the championship this weekend.
Adam Taggart and Terry Antonis will be lining up for Suwon Bluewings in the K League on Saturday night as they take on Busan I’Park at 8pm.
Antonis is back in contention to be selected after he completed the two match suspension that he picked up for his dismissal against Jeonbuk in the first round.
Watch the FULL game of the Socceroos v Argentina on Thursday, 2 June at 7:30pm AEST. Click here to watch on Facebook, Youtube or the My Football Live App.
Taggart featured for almost the entirety of the Bluewings’ win last time out against Incheon and will be hoping that he has done enough to cement his place in the starting line-up for this upcoming fixture.
Promoted Busan have had a difficult start to life in the K League, they sit in second last position on the league table and are yet to taste victory this campaign.
Jason Davidson will also be starring this weekend as his Ulsan Hyundai visit Gwangju FC at 8pm on Saturday.
Davidson was an unused substitute in his side’s 1-1 draw against Busan last weekend as they lost their perfect start to the season and forfeited top spot to Jeonbuk.
This weekend’s fixture against Gwangju could prove to be the perfect remedy for him and his side given their opponents prop up the ladder with three defeats in their first three matches.
It will be an all Aussie affair in Pohang on Sunday as Brandon O’Neill’s Steelers take on Rashid Mahazi’s Incheon United at 8pm.
Pohang have endured a mixed start to their campaign with a win, draw and defeat in their opening fixtures.
O’Neill is still building up to full match fitness, but he is expected to be named in the starting line-up this Sunday – as he has been for his side’s last two matches.
Mahazi has not been a part of Incheon’s matchday squads since the opening round.
Both he and his side will be looking to kickstart their season this weekend after a difficult start which sees them in third last heading into this fixture.
Bundesliga action this weekend will mean that we get to see Brandon Borrello’s SC Freiburg in action as they face off against Bayer Leverkusen at 4:30am on Saturday.
Borrello was an unused substitute in his side’s midweek 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Freiburg have slowly been losing grip with the top six European spots and the visit of Leverkusen could prove to be a tricky proposition.
Leverkusen sit two places above Freiburg in 5th and are 15 points better off than their opponents, but a heavy 4-1 defeat to Wolfsburg last time out will give Freiburg some hope heading into their meeting.
Mathew Leckie and his Hertha Berlin side will be coming up against Augsburg at 11:30pm on Saturday.
Hertha drew 2-2 at high flying RB Leipzig overnight however Leckie was once again not included in the matchday squad.
The Socceroos winger is yet to feature under new manager Bruno Labbadia and will most likely be in the stands for their upcoming fixture.
The Israeli Premier League will restart their season this Sunday so there will be another two Aussies set to return to the pitch as Maccabi Haifa teammates Trent Sainsbury and Nikita Rukavytsya go head to head with Hapoel Tel Aviv on Sunday at 4am.
The competition has been split into a six team championship group and eight team relegation group ahead of its return this weekend.
Haifa finished the 26 game regular season in second position and have qualified for the championship group.
Sainsbury and Rukavytsya’s side are odds on favourites to secure the three points this weekend, given they hold a 20 point lead over their opponents.
*All times displayed are in AEST
Watch the FULL game of the Socceroos v Argentina on Thursday, 2 June at 7:30pm AEST. Click here to watch on Facebook, Youtube or the My Football Live App.
To watch Socceroos matches, highlights and other videos, visit our Stay At Home Hub.
