Westfield FFA Cup preview

Stirling Lions v Brisbane Roar

Venue: Western Australia Athletics Stadium, Perth

KO: 7.30pm (local) 9.30pm AEST

#SLvBRI

The Hyundai A-League champions make their debut in the Westfield FFA Cup with a tricky trip to Western Australia.

While it’s a huge challenge for the hosts, they have found their best form at the right time of the year.

The Lions have won three of their last four matches including a last-gasp 2-1 victory over ECU Joondalup on the weekend thanks to goals from Robert Petkov and David Micevski.

In Micevski and Moses Kalau, Stirling have the firepower to trouble Mike Mulvey’s side, while goal-keeper Aleks Vrteski provides some Hyundai A-League experience to draw from.

They will need all that and more up against the Roar, who will be keen to add the national Cup competition to their league success of last season.

Despite the loss of star striker Besart Berisha, Roar have been scoring heavily in the pre-season, including an impressive 3-0 win over Redlands United in their last meaningful hit-out just under a fortnight ago.

Jean Carlos Solorzano bagged a brace and is likely to lead the attack again, while Dimitri Petratos got the other goal.