Western United boss John Aloisi says experience will count for a lot when his side take on Wellington Phoenix in Saturday’s A-League elimination final.
Western are priced at 13/2 to go on and win the grand final but first they will have to overcome a Wellington side that has the edge over them in recent meetings.
Phoenix winning streak
Since Western entered the A-League in 2019 the Phoenix have won six of the eight matches between the two sides. However they have not been finals games, and Aloisi says that is key.
The United boss says he has bags of experience in his side and that will be crucial.
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"We've got players that love this occasion," Aloisi told reporters. "We've got experienced players that have been in these situations, in these finals games before.
"I don't think we've played Wellington in the finals. This is a new one for the boys. The normal season's out the window.
"This is a finals game and our boys, I know that they'll be able to step up for these games."
Duo back for Nix
Meanwhile Wellington boss Ufuk Talay has been boosted by the return of Jaushua Sotiro and Clayton Lewis and believes his side can beat anyone on their day.
"I always believe that my squad is good enough to win every game and having these players back and having them involved doesn't just give me the confidence, but also gives the group confidence," Talay added.
"It's great that they're back and it gives us that extra boost and extra depth that we need in case the game does go to 120 minutes."
