Home comforts? There has been no such thing for Newcastle Jets when they have hosted Perth Glory in recent years.
Incredibly, Australia has had five different Prime Ministers since the last time the Jets defeated the Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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And the Mariners will be out to stop a couple of unwanted records when they head to Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
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Roar looking for fast start
Up against the hottest team in the Hyundai A-League, Melbourne Victory, John Aloisi’s men will need to get off to a flyer at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
The Roar have failed to score a first-half goal in each of their last four games against Victory at Suncorp Stadium.
Despite that, they’ve still managed to win two of those clashes.
Roar striker Adam Taggart – who is playing his 100th Hyundai A-League game – has averaged a shot every seven touches this season, the second most frequent of any player.
But Victory have proved to be the kings when it comes to shooting stats this season.
Kevin Muscat’s men boast a shooting accuracy (inc. blocks) of 58% and a shot conversion rate (inc. blocks) of 18%, the best of any team in either category this season.
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory, Friday 7.50pm (AEDT)
Mariners keen to stop the rot
It’s been a tough start to the campaign for the winless Mariners.
Failure to win against Wellington would extend the club's winless run to 14 matches, equalling their longest ever drought in the Hyundai A-League.
It is defensively where Mike Mulvey’s men have had their issues, yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
In fact, the club's last two clean sheets both came last season and both against the Phoenix (Rds 13 and 21).
The Mariners will need to stop Phoenix’s Fijian flyer Roy Krishna if they are to keep another clean sheet.
Krishna has a shot conversion rate (inc. blocks) of 29% this campaign, the best of any player to have made at least 10 total shots.
But the Mariners have won two of their last four against Wellington, scoring three or more goals in both of those games.
Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners, Saturday 5.35pm (AEDT)
Wanderers out to buck the trend
Western Sydney’s struggles against the Sky Blues are well-known, with the Wanderers recording just one win in their last 15 competitive games against Sydney FC.
This will be the third meeting between the two clubs at ANZ Stadium, with Sydney FC outscoring the Wanderers 9-1 in that time (for two wins and one loss).
While the Wanderers go into this match confident after a last-up win, their last seven victories in the Hyundai A-League have all come against teams ranked lower than them on the ladder.
The Wanderers are fifth when it comes to goals scored this season, despite having more shots (109) than any other club.
Unfortunately for Markus Babbel’s men, their 40% accuracy is the worst in the competition.
If the Wanderers are to win, they might have to do most of the damage in the first half, with Sydney FC conceding the fewest goals after the break (two) than any other side this season.
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC, Saturday 7.50pm (AEDT)
Glory’s home-away-from-home
Jets fans, look away now. Because your record against Glory in Newcastle is shocking.
Perth are unbeaten in their last 10 visits to McDonald Jones Stadium, with their last defeat in the Hunter coming back in 2011.
In fact, the Jets have beaten the Glory just twice in the last 20 meetings between the two clubs.
The key to Newcastle breaking the streak could be scoring a first-half goal.
Ernie Merrick’s side have won their last six games in a row when they have found the back of the net at least once in the opening half.
But the Jets are one of just two teams (along with Brisbane Roar) yet to find the back of the net within the opening 15 minutes of a game this season.
Glory boss Tony Popovic also likes coming up against the Jets, winning five of his last six games against them (with one draw), with his side keeping four clean sheets in that time.
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory, Sunday 5pm (AEDT)
City looking for more luck on their travels
In all of their last five games outside of Melbourne, City have picked up just one point in total, while only managing to score three goals.
But Warren Joyce’s side is unbeaten in their last four games against Adelaide United.
City have made a habit of making strong starts to halves, yet to concede a goal in the opening 15 minutes of a half all season.
At the other end, Riley McGree has been one of their key attackers, both attempting (31) and completing (17) more dribbles than any other player this campaign.
Adelaide will draw on the fact they have lost just one of their last 10 games at Coopers Stadium.
They are likely to need to score a few goals to keep that going, with the Reds keeping just one clean sheet during that run.
Returning Reds winger Ryan Kitto boasts a shooting accuracy of 83% this campaign, the joint-highest of any player in the competition.
Adelaide United v Melbourne City, Sunday 7pm (AEDT)
