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Queensland hosts Adelaide in blockbuster

Round 8 of A-League action kicks off tomorrow night following a week off due to international fixtures. Suncorp Stadium will host its second match in three nights backing up from the Socceroos 4-0 victory over Qatar last night. Only two points separates the Queensland Roar and Adelaide United on the table and the home town coach, Roar's Frank Farina knows his side are in for a solid hit out. "They'll be tough as ever," he said. "They'll be full of confidence, they're playing good football. I'm expecting that (Adelaide coach) Aurelio (Vidmar) will field his best side on Friday night. "They'll want to be competitive on two fronts. They've got one foot in the door of the final of the (Asian) Champions League but they'll want to stay in touch with the A-League as well." Reds coach Aurelio Vidmar did not differ to how Farina said he would go about fielding his side and also agreed that it would be a very tough assignment for both teams. Vidmar said, "We're trying to field the strongest possible side for tomorrow night and get three points because it is still extremely important what we're doing in the A-League. Whatever happens after Friday night's game, we'll assess it Saturday morning." The teams last clashed back in Round 2 this season and Vidmar gave credit to the Roar and the way they went about it on that occasion. "We got a 1-1 result but it was done the hard way, we gave them a little too much room last time and they have got a great midfield. "They're extremely mobile so if we keep everything tight and everyone does their job, we shouldn't have too many problems," he added. Queensland will be without creative Dutch striker Sergio van Dijk who has succumbed to a calf injury but Scottish scoring sensation Charlie Miller has been passed fit to play. For the Reds, one of last week's Champions League goal scorers, Fabian Barbiero returns to the A-League line-up but Brazilian Diego will miss due to injury.

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Andrew Slevison
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