In the last round of the league, a 4-1 win at the Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, gave them their first win of the season and the goals were scored by four different players, showing great attacking form. In this match, Phoenix will continue to meet the Hop at the Sky Stadium
The opponent is the overall champion of last season's playoffs. As for the lineup, Phoenix has no changes from the last round, with midfielder Ruffier being the team's only injury, and center back Rouse, who left the field in the last minute of the last game, fully recovered and is among the game's roster.
As the defending champions, Western Union did not have a good start to the new season, with 1 draw and 4 losses in 5 league matches, scoring 7 goals and conceding 14, with an average of nearly 3 goals conceded. In terms of lineup, Western Union is not complete, center back Tomoki Imai will be injured for a long time, and in the last round of the league, the team's main back Lustica was injured and left the field, coupled with the team's introduction of the midfielder Atsumi Dumbya was injured, and the center back Stanley was suspended, the team's personnel in the middle and back of this defensive area is quite tricky. It's not all bad news for Western Union, though, as midfielder Diamanti has already made a substitute appearance in the last round, and the team's top winger has been named to the pre-match alternative list for the first time this season. However, considering Puljovic's previous long term injury and Diamanti's age, neither is likely to be a starter for Western Union at this point.
The poor performance of Western Union this season is directly related to the serious understrength of the backline on the one hand, and another important factor is the lack of motivation of the players to play in the new season after winning the cup last season. The age difference in the current Western Union squad is too great, and many veterans are at the end of their careers, so the team obviously lacks combat power, not to mention the team is going to play in New Zealand.
