Wanderers shaping as real threat - The Australian

FEW would argue they're the A-League's big improvers but newcomers the Western Sydney Wanderers plan to show just how far they've come in their New Year's blockbuster against Melbourne Victory.

The sides last met in November and the Victory won 2-0 away from home, despite playing most of the match with 10 men after defender Sam Gallagher was shown a red card.

Both sides have hit form since, and few would have predicted their re-match at Parramatta Stadium tonight would be a top-four clash. Wanderers coach Tony Popovic felt his rookie side showed its inexperience in the first meeting of the teams but vowed there would be no repeat tonight.

"We've improved a lot since then," Popovic said yesterday. "It was a unique circumstance for us, playing against 10 men so early, and possibly we weren't prepared for something like that.

"We got punished on that day and we learned a lot from that match and since then we've shown a gradual improvement.

"We're hoping tomorrow we can show that out on the pitch."

With 10 points each from their past five matches, both the fourth-placed Wanderers and third-placed Victory are closing the gap on competition pacesetters Central Coast and Adelaide.

While Western Sydney hit its stride in a 6-1 rout of Adelaide in its last home match, the Wanderers will face the league's best offensive side in Victory.

And there's no bigger threat than New Zealand sensation Marco Rojas, the league's form player, whose spectacular double strike steered Melbourne to a 3-2 win over Newcastle on Friday.

"He's on fire at the moment," Wanderers captain Michael Beauchamp said of Rojas, dubbed by some pundits as the "Kiwi Messi".

"He did well the first game against us and he's got so much confidence now."

Western Sydney will welcome back its own big gun, Japanese ace Shinji Ono, after he was one of a handful of players rested in Thursday's 1-1 draw away to Perth Glory.

But the Wanderers will be without Aaron Mooy (suspension), Adam D'Apuzzo (calf) and Tahj Minniecon (foot).

Central defender Beauchamp was yesterday rewarded for a strong season with a one-year contract extension. It followed the recent re-signings of goalkeeper Ante Covic and midfielder Mateo Poljak and Popovic hoped his squad for 2013-14 would continue to take shape in coming weeks.

"Last year we signed our first players in June and this year we realise we can't wait that long," Popovic said.

"We've go tto start planning ahead for next year and the years to come after that."

AAP