Macarthur will look to return to winning ways when they welcome Newcastle Jets to the Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.
The visitors come into this tie fresh off the back of ending their run of seven straight losses as they held on for a 1-1 draw against Perth Glory last time out.
Match preview
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Macarthur saw their three-game winning run come to an end last Friday as they lost 2-1 against Brisbane Roar.
The Bulls were unable to bounce back from that result as they fell to yet another defeat away to Adelaide United last time out.
In a game where the visitors struggled in the final third, Tomi Juric, Craig Goodwin and Ben Halloran all hit the target to hand the Reds a 3-1 win.
That dip in form has now seen Ante Milicic's men fall into fifth place in the standings, level on points with Sydney FC and one point above Western Sydney Wanderers.
On the other hand, Newcastle Jets grabbed a 1-1 draw when they hosted fellow strugglers Perth Glory at the McDonald Jones Stadium.
The visitors broke the deadlock in the 61st minute through Joel Chianese, but Roy O'Donovan restored parity six minutes later from the penalty spot.
The result brought no change to either side's position in the table, with Craig Deans's men still in 11th place, one point above rock-bottom Melbourne Victory.
However, this was the Jets' first point since February 20, ending their run of seven straight defeats.
Newcastle Jets will now try to build on this result when they meet Macarthur, as moving up from the bottom of the table remains a priority.
This is only the second-ever meeting between both sides, with Loic Puyo and Matt Derbyshire finding the target to hand Macarthur a 2-1 win in January's reverse fixture.
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Team News
Milicic has the luxury of a full strength squad at his disposal, but we expect the 47-year-old to stick to his preferred starting XI.
Matt Derbyshire has hit 10 goals in his last 11 matches, and he will have a huge role to play in attack for the hosts.
Nineteen-year-old Jake Hollman, who was handed just his third start last time out, could keep his place in the starting lineup after putting on a solid shift in attack.
On the other hand, Nigel Boogaard will sit out this tie as he is sidelined with a leg injury.
He is joined on the treatment table by John Koutroumbis, who battles with a knee problem.
Australian-born midfielder Ben Kantarovski could make his return from a long-term calf injury that has kept him out of action since August 2020.
Macarthur possible starting lineup:
Federici; Golec, Milligan, Susnjar; Li Rose, Benat, Genreau, Oar; La Rose, Derbyshire, Hollman
Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Italiano; Millar, Topor-Stanley, Jackson, O'Toole; Ugarkovic, Thurgate; Stamatelopoulos, Najjarine, Yuel; O'Donovan
We say: Macarthur 2-0 Newcastle Jets
Seated fifth in the league table, Macarthur have enjoyed an impressive debut season in the Australian top flight. Considering the current gulf in quality between both sides, we predict the Bulls grab all three points and heap more misery on the floundering Newcastle Jets.
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Macarthur win with a probability of 38.58%. A win for Newcastle Jets had a probability of 37.05% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Macarthur win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.64%) and 2-0 (5.77%). The likeliest Newcastle Jets win was 1-2 (8.3%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.26%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood.
