The battle of the Coasts throws up a very interesting contest with both teams coming off wins last week.
United did the job over the Perth Glory against the odds and will be feeling confident against a Mariners side who were lucky to escape with a win over the Melbourne Heart last Friday.
Jason Culina is in good form for the home side and will run the midfield but Central Coast coach Graham Arnold knows him well from his decade with the Australian national team and will have plans in place to shut him down.
The Mariners have been able to grind out wins in their last two outings against both Melbourne clubs and will be desperate to keep that run going and improve on their third placing if possible.
It seems they are playing a committed brand under Arnold and this is a fixture that they are capable of taking against a United team who have experienced a stop-start season with two byes in the past four weeks.
In saying that, Miron Bleiberg will want to build on the brilliant away win over the Glory and won't give this one up without a fight.
Verdict: 1-1 draw
Gold Coast United vs. Central Coast MarinersDate: Sunday 19 September 2010 Venue: Skilled Park, Robina Local kick-off: 5:00pm Head-to-Head: All matches (played 3): Gold Coast United wins 1, Central Coast Mariners wins 1 (1 draw) Referee: Jarred Gillett
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD and Sky Sport 3 (NZ). Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 66.3 Coast FM (Gosford).To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au
Gold Coast United squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Steve PANTELIDIS, 3.Michael THWAITE, 5.ROBSON, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 8.ANDERSON, 10.Jason CULINA (c), 11.Bruce DJITE, 13.Bas VAN DEN BRINK, 16.Kristian REES, 19.Andrew BARISIC, 20.Scott HIGGINS (gk), 21.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 22.Adama TRAORE, 23.Steve FITZSIMMONS, 24.John CURTIS, 25.Chris BROADFOOT *three to be omitted* In: ROBSON (promoted), ANDERSON (promoted), Andrew BARISIC (promoted), Golgol MEBRAHTU (promoted) Out: Tahj MINNIECON (National Team Duty), James BROWN (National Team Duty) Unavailable: Daniel Piorkowski (ankle injury - 4 weeks), Matt Osman (knee injury - indefinite), Joel Porter (hamstring injury - 1 week)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 2 Daniel MCBREEN, 3.Joshua ROSE, 4.Pedj BOJIC, 5.Brad PORTER, 6.Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 7.John HUTCHINSON, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 9.Nik MRDJA, 10.Patricio PEREZ, 12.Matthew LEWIS, 14.Michael McGLINCHEY, 17.Chris DOIG, 18.Alex WILKINSON (c), 19.Matt SIMON, 20.Mathew RYAN (gk), 23.Adam KWASNIK, 30.Paul HENDERSON (gk) *two to be omitted* In: Patricio PEREZ (returns from suspension), Matthew LEWIS (promoted), Chris DOIG (promoted) Out: Oliver BOZANIC (National Team Duty) Unavailable: Trent SAINSBURY (knee - 3 weeks), Jess VANSTRATTAN (knee - season)
