Date: Saturday, September 11
Kick-off: 7:00 ACST
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium

Head-to-head
Played 17: Adelaide United 7, Newcastle Jets 5, Draws 5

Previous Meeting
Adelaide United 0, Newcastle Jets 0, Hindmarsh Stadium, Round1 2010/11

History
United and Newcastle played out a dour 0-0 draw on the opening day of the season where the Jets slightly held the upper hand.

Season So Far
Adelaide United: DDWWW
Newcastle: DDLD

Match Committee
Adelaide welcomed back Robert Cornthwaite last week as he made a cameo appearance off the bench while Travis Dodd (groin) is still a month away. Fabian Barbiero (ankle) could return next week but Nigel Boogaard (ankle) is sidelined for a further 10 weeks and Lloyd Owusu's (knee) return is still listed as indefinite.

Newcastle have yet to call on the services of their Italian recruit, Marcello Fiorentini. Ruben Zadkovich will miss the match through suspension while Kaz Patafta and Sean Rooney have been dumped from the travelling party. Jobe Wheelhouse is suffering from a hamstring/knee injury and could miss a couple of weeks while Neil Young has been struck down by illness.

Danger men
Sergio van Dijk finally found the back of the net for United bagging a double against Sydney FC last week, including a superbly taken free kick. Van Dijk had opened his account in the Reds ACL campaign but failed to get on the score sheet in United's opening four league matches this season.
The Reds new-look attacking brand of possession football has United's front man more involved and less isolated than last season. The Dutch born striker has been well supported by speedster Matthew Leckie who also found the back of the net against Sydney. The pair appear to have struck up a solid partnership that looks like it will flourish.

Michael Bridges enjoyed his last trip to Hindmarsh and found plenty of time and space in the midfield behind the strikers. Jets' coach Branko Culina has given his captain a 'libero' role where the playmaker can roam free as Newcastle's architect. He will work in tandem with Socceroo Kasey Wehrman, who will also look to supply the Jets' front line while keeping a watchful eye on the Reds' midfield also.

At the end of the day….
United sit top of the table and have improved drastically since the dull, goalless draw on the opening day of the season. The Reds have found their feet in Dutch coach Rini Coolen's new system and have adapted well, recording three consecutive wins, including back-to-back victories on the road. United have also bagged three goals in each of their past three matches and looks to have arrested last season's goal scoring worries, finding the back of the net 10 times already this campaign. Incredibly this is nearly half of last season's total goal tally. Newcastle looked promising against the Reds in Round 1 but have so far failed to back up that positive performance. The Reds' current form suggest it's hard to look past United making it four wins on the trot.

TEAMS:

Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS (c), 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 10.Marcos FLORES, 12.Paul REID, 16. Inseob SHIN, 17.Iain RAMSAY, 19.Mathew LECKIE, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 24.Cameron WATSON, 26.Joe KEENAN
*1 to be omitted*

In: 16. Inseob SHIN (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Nigel BOOGAARD (ankle – 8 weeks), Travis DODD (groin – 4 weeks), Lloyd OWUSU (knee – indefinite), Fabian BARBIERO (ankle – 1 week)

Newcastle Jets squad: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D’APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI 19. Ali ABBAS, 7. Kasey WEHRMAN 8. Michael BRIDGES (c), 11. Tarek ELRICH, 16. Jeremy BROCKIE, 18. Marko JESIC, 40. Matthew NASH (gk), 13. Sasho Petrovski, 9. Zhang Shuo 14. Labinot Haliti

In: 14. Labinot HALITI
Out: 10. Ruben ZADKOVICH (suspended)
Unavailable: 10. Ruben ZADKOVICH (suspended), 21. Brodie MOOY (not selected), 22. Kaz PATAFTA (not selected), 20. Neil YOUNG (illness – indefinite), 17. Marcello FIORENTINI (not selected), 15. Sean ROONEY (not selected), 2. Taylor REGAN (not selected) 12. Jobe Wheelhouse (injured – hamstring / knee)