Ultimate guide: Mariners v Adelaide

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WHAT, WHEN, WHERE: Central Coast Mariners v Adelaide United, Saturday 4.30pm EST, Central Coast Stadium., Fox Sports 3HD.

FORM GUIDE: Mariners: WLWWW, Adelaide: LDWWD

MATCH ODDS: Mariners $2.15, Draw $3.40, Adelaide $3.10 (TAB — as at 17 April)

THE NEXT STEP: A win for the Mariners will see them take on Western Sydney Wanderers for a spot in the grand final. If Adelaide wins, it will travel to Brisbane for a clash with the premiers.

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TALE OF THE TAPE

The Mariners go into this clash as favourites, and rightly so having finished three places above Adelaide in the regular season.

But the table doesn't tell the full story.

Both teams were in with a shot of securing second spot heading into last week's final round, but Adelaide's unusually lethargic performance in Newcastle resulted in the Reds dropping all the way down to sixth.

However, Josep Gombau's men have shown they're capable of matching it with the very best and have outplayed just about every team in the league at some stage during the season with their, dare we say it, Barcelona-style football.

Adelaide United's Spanish coach Josep Gombau. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

Meanwhile, the Mariners continue to do what they've always done — fly under the radar and exceed most people's expectations.

All hope appeared lost when Central Coast suffered a slump after Phil Moss took over from Graham Arnold earlier in the season.

But the club has recovered from that loss and is in the midst of a serious spike in form, having won four of its last five games in the A-League.

However, they'll need to recover from their mid-week AFC Champions League heartbreak, where a late own goal by veteran skipper John Hutchison saw them relinquish top spot to FC Seoul.

LAST MEETING

The Reds put on an attacking masterclass to comprehensively beat Central Coast 2-0 the last time the teams met, back in February this year.

Marcelo Carrusca looms as a key figure for Adelaide. Picture: Sarah Reed.. Source: News Corp Australia

Star imports Marcelo Carrusca and Fabio Ferreira found the back of the net in the first half, and they received strong support throughout the evening by striker Bruce Djite and Sergio Cirio.

And who can forget what happened in the previous encounter, when the Mariners reached their lowest ebb this season after being hammered 4-0 at Coopers Stadium.

STATS AMAZING

Let's start with the best news for the Mariners — they are unbeaten in their previous eight home matches against Adelaide, and have won the last six of those.

Couple that with the fact Adelaide has won just one of its last five away games, and the picture that start to takes shape is one likely to give Central Coast plenty of confidence.

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But the hits don't stop there. Moss's men are yet to be shown a red card this season, while Adelaide has received a league-high four send-offs. In a pressure-cooker like finals football, this stat could prove to be as important as any numbers around goals or assists.

K EY MATCH-UPS

Nick Montgomery v Marcelo Carrusca

Probably the most important battle on the park. Carrusca is Adelaide's chief creator and has a handy knack of finding the back of the net as well. Mongtomery is the Mariners' chief destroyer and was trialled as a centre back last week, to great effect. If he can negate Carrusca's influence, Central Coast will go a long way towards cutting off the Reds' supply lines.

Storm Roux v Michael Zullo

Storm Roux has had a breakout season with the Mariners. Source: Getty Images

The battle of the flying wing-backs. Both Roux and Zullo like to get forward, but they'll need to be wary of getting caught in the attacking third when their team loses the ball, because both have lightning pace. Look out for this game of cat and mouse down the Mariners' right and Adelaide's left.

WHAT THEY SAID

"I played Copa Libertadores in Argentina I know the feeling of playing in finals, it's different than a normal game" — Adelaide striker Jeronimo Neumann.

"Suffice to say they put six goals past us in the last two games so we know where their strengths are" — Mariners coach Phil Moss.

MARK RUDAN'S VERDICT

Anything could happen in a game like this.

Central Coast is at home, where they're always tough to break down.

You want momentum heading into he finals and winning is always good. Adelaide don't have that. They need to be a lot more ruthless against the Mariners or it's lights out for them.

Adelaide has proved they can score goals. They are the entertainers of the league, while there's nothing wrong with having a good defensive structure like the Mariners have – where everyone knows their role.

It's going to be a chess-type match. Attack v defence. Bruce Djite has come into his own this season. He does a lot of hard work for his team. He's a key player for the Reds and the Mariners will go a long way top winning if they can nullify him. Carrusca has been one of the form players of the season.

But I'm going for the away team, Adelaide. I think they'll turn around their recent form and get this done against the Mariners.

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