Preview of A-League round-nine matches (all times AEDT):FRIDAY, Dec 2Melbourne Victory v Perth at AAMI Park 7.50pmHead to Head: Victory 12 Glory 13 drawn 9Last clash: Round 17 2015-16 - Glory 3 bt Victory 2 at nib StadiumTab Sportsbet: Victory $1.60 Glory $5.00 Draw $4.00Things are starting to get a little hairy for Perth. Last week, they became the first team in 36 matches not to score against Central Coast and, this week, theyve lost key men Diego Castro and Josh Risdon, who are unlikely to return from injury until the new year. Labelled as title fancies in pre-season, theyre already nine points behind Sydney FC, and cant afford to slip much further back. Victory, who have won three of their past four, regain Daniel Georgievski and Lawrence Thomas from injury, but theyll be minus Mitch Austin (ankle) for the next two weeks.Key: With playmaker Castro out, theres huge pressure on Nebojsa Marinkovic to start pulling the strings in attack for Perth.Tip: VictorySATURDAY, Dec 3Central Coast v Western Sydney at Central Coast Stadium 5.35pmHead to Head: Mariners 4 Wanderers 6 drawn 5Last clash: Round 4 2016-17 - Wanderers 1 drew Mariners 1 at Spotless StadiumTab Sportsbet: Mariners $3.50 Wanderers $2.05 Draw $3.40Its no doubt an unusual feeling looking at Central Coast above them on the ladder, and one seventh-placed Western Sydney will seek to rectify when they take their impassioned fans to Gosford. The Mariners rebuffed their battler status with an upset home win over Perth last week that lifted them to sixth, and will have momentum on their minds against a Wanderers outfit who showed improvement against Brisbane but remain stuck in a rut, results-wise, with five draws. Liam Rose (suspension) and Jacob Poscoliero (injury) are back for the home team.Key: Tony Popovic retained an identical starting XI for the first time against the Roar but, with one goal to show for 30 crosses, his side need another attacking dimension.Tip: DrawMelbourne City v Brisbane at AAMI Park 7.50pmHead to Head: City 8 Roar 8 drawn 3Last clash: Round 5 2016-17 - Roar 1 bt City 0 at Suncorp StadiumTab Sportsbet: City $2.00 Roar $3.50 Draw $3.50You could forgive City for reaching for the Panadol and Powerades the morning after Wednesday nights FFA Cup final win. But as entitled as they were to celebrate the clubs first piece of mens silverware, their clash with the Roar is arguably just as important in the grand scheme. Second-placed City and fourth-placed Brisbane are separated by just three points and both have designs on hauling back Sydney FCs runaway lead atop the ladder. FFA Cup match winner Tim Cahill will need to overcome a knee issue to take his place while Brisbanes Thomas Kristensen and Brandon Borrello remain in doubt with hamstring injuries.Key: Can City get past the Roars defence? Last time they met, they failed to get a single shot on target.Tip: DrawSUNDAY, Dec 4Newcastle v Sydney FC at McDonald Jones Stadium 5.00pmHead to Head: Jets 6 Sydney 22 drawn 8Last clash: Round 4 2016-17 - Sydney 2 bt Jets 0 at McDonald Jones StadiumTab Sportsbet: Jets $4.50 Sydney $1.70 Draw $3.75After a dominant start to the season, a tricky December could undermine Sydney FCs commanding lead. That starts away to the Jets when the Sky Blues attempt to maintain their four-point advantage over FFA Cup final conquerors Melbourne City, who can close the gap by defeating Brisbane. Graham Arnolds side lacked their usual attacking prowess in their past two outings against City and Adelaide, and will be set on reigniting their spark against injury-ravaged Newcastle, who are eighth and without a win in six games. Alex Wilkinson has been named in Sydneys squad despite missing the FFA Cup decider through illness.Key: Whether Dane Morten Nordstand can back up from a minor hip flexor issue to provide the Jets with a much-needed clinical finish.Tip: SydneyAdelaide United v Wellington at Coopers Stadium 7.00pmHead to Head: Reds 14 Phoenix 8 drawn 6Last clash: Round 22 2015-16 - Reds 4 bt Phoenix 0 at Westpac StadiumTab Sportsbet: Reds $1.70 Phoenix $4.50 Draw $3.75Theres a feeling in the South Australian capital that Adelaides fortunes are about to change. A morale-boosting display against Sydney FC last weekend provided the strongest signal yet the defending champions ninth game could yield a breakthrough win in a bottom-two playoff with Wellington. Its not lost on the Reds faithful that Guillermo Amors last-placed side are in an identical position to last season - their title-winning run began in round nine. Either way, Amor will watch from the stands as he serves his second touchline ban. Not that Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick expects the absence to affect a team against whom hes won only four of his past 11 games.Key: The Reds could again find joy down the flanks via wingers Ryan Kitto and Nikola Mileusnic, especially with Phoenix left-back Tom Doyle (hamstring) still out.Tip: Adelaide NFL Jerseys Wholesale . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Wholesale NFL Jerseys 2020 . PAUL, Minn. https://www.nfljerseys2020.com/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Stitched NFL Jerseys . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. NFL Jerseys 2020 . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. NFL touchback numbers dropped in the first week of the 2016 preseason despite an offseason rule change that marks them at the 25-yard line instead of the 20.According to NFL.com numbers, 29 percent of Week 1 kickoffs (42 of 142) were downed in the end zone for a touchback. Thats well below the leagues rate of 56 percent during the 2015 regular season.More kickoffs tend to be returned in the preseason, when a big return can boost players chances of making the team. But the 2015 preseason rate of touchbacks was 43.4 percent, still notably higher than what the league produced in the first week of the 2016 preseason.Although it is a small sample size, the rate decrease is consistent with what NFL coaches have said about the rule change during training camp.The league is attemmpting to reduce returns for safety purposes, hoping that better field position will incentivize more teams to take touchbacks.dddddddddddd Coaches have said they will experiment this summer with pop-up kicks that drop short of the goal line, thus forcing a return and achieving the opposite effect of the rule change.NFL officials have said they will study the full-season impact of the new touchback rule before deciding whether to abandon or tweak it in the offseason.During a conference call with league executives last spring, special teams coaches advocated a new, mandatory formation that would convert the kickoff into a play closer to a punt. ' ' '