Brisbane Roar v Auckland FC: A-League Sunday preview

Auckland FC remain the pacesetters at the top of the A-League ladder and they will expect to be extend their unbeaten run to ten matches when they visit lowly Brisbane Roar on Saturday.

However, things may not be as straightforward as they look at first sight, with the Roar having lost just one of their last five league matches, while the Black Knights have drawn all of their last three.

The Roar, though, have yet to win a game at their own Suncorp Stadium this season, with the 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at the start of March the only time in eight that they have avoided defeat.

Brisbane Roar v Auckland FC betting preview

Roar showing fighting spirit

While the Roar have endured a tough season to date, as they lie 12th on the ladder, they have at least shown signs of life in recent weeks and have only lost one of their last five A-League games.

Last time out they claimed just their second victory of the campaign as they moved above Perth Gory at the foot of the ladder by winning 3-1 in Western Australia, with Samuel Klein scoring twice in the second half.

Head coach Ruben Zadkovich is well aware of the size of the task of trying to take down the current ladder leaders, telling the media: "They're a really well organised unit and we'll have to be at our best to get a result this weekend."

Zadkovich is able to welcome Austin Ludwik back after a knock, but Keegan Jelacic misses out through suspension and injuries keep both Corey Brown and Ben Warland on the sidelines.

These two sides met in the opening week of the current campaign and the Black Knights ran out 2-0 winners in Wellington on their competition debut, with the Roar unable to recover from the concession of an early own goal by Harry Van der Saag.

Black Knights out to end run of draws

The visitors are four points clear at the summit and have played a game less than second-placed Western United, so head coach Steve Corica will no doubt send his players out with the message of making no mistake in Brisbane.

Corica is boosted by the returns of both Louis Verstraete and Nando Pijnaker after suspension, while all of his All Whites stars have returned from international duty unscathed and no doubt buoyant after helping New Zealand book a World Cup finals spot.

However, the former Australia international will be aware that his side have stumbled slightly in recent weeks, having drawn all of their last three in the A-League, conceding seven goals in the process.

The larger picture is not quite so concerning, with the Black Knights unbeaten in nine and having won four in a row before their recent runs of draws.

This game takes on added significance when the fixture list shows that next up for Auckland is a potentially tricky visit from Western Sydney Wanderers, so the Kiwis will want to put a seven-point gap between themselves and Western United ahead of that clash.

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Brisbane Roar v Auckland FC odds

Brisbane Roar - 4.20
Draw - 3.50
Auckland FC - 1.90

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.