The Wellington Phoenix are in line for a major squad boost against Adelaide United this Sunday.
While the game comes too early for new signing and 47-cap All White Bill Tuiloma to be registered, Josh Oluwayemi, Tim Payne, and Nikola Mileusnic could all be involved after returning from injury.
Carlo Armiento will not feature as he serves a one-match suspension after last weekend’s red card.
The added depth could be crucial, head coach Giancarlo Italiano told media pre-match.
“I think you’re only as good as your bench,” he said. “Depth is the number one indicator of success for any team.
“If you don’t have players who can change a game, influence a game, stabilise a game, you’re going to have problems.
“We’ve experienced that over the last year and a half, where we’ve been a little bit light, have wanted to change games, with subs contributing and it’s kind of gone the other way.”
Last week’s 3-0 win over Brisbane showed great impact from the bench, with substitutes Luke Brooke-Smith and Paulo Retre combining for the breakaway final goal.
“For me, Paulo came on and gave his experience, Luke came on and was very disciplined for the time he was on and waited for his moment.
“I love the fact that he dribbled Salas, he’s a very good defender, and the fact that Paulo followed up.
“That goes a long way to our success.”
The challenge is now to make it back to back wins for the first time this season.
“It was the best performance of a team I’ve coached at the club in seven years, including my time as an assistant.
“It was all heart, a lot of character from the team. It was the players that drove it.
“The football gods gave us a test and we passed with flying colours.
“But in terms of momentum, it doesn’t mean anything if we can’t win this week.”
Adelaide, coming off a 4-0 thumping to Central Coast, will be determined to make amends, especially after losing to Wellington in November.
“Vriends is coming back into the team, I think Kikianis is coming back in. I expect a bounceback.
“They’re a difficult team to play, they have some very nice ideas with the ball.
“They’ve got a solid base, a lot of energy with their younger players.
“We’re not going in all cocky, we’re going in with quiet confidence but we also have to respect their strengths.
“The players will use [November’s win] as confidence, but they still have to play the 90 minutes.”
And a positive performance is important to reinforce the wider aims of the team.
“We win at all costs. The goal and the mission of the squad is to win the league.
“We haven’t changed that focus, even though a lot’s been said about how we go about that.
“We’ve taken more of a longer-term approach at the club, but I feel that we have a good enough squad that we can cement a claim for the title this season.”
The round 12 Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United is scheduled to kick-off at Sky Stadium in Wellington at 3pm Sunday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 2 in New Zealand, and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 29 November 2025 – Wellington Phoenix 2 Adelaide United 1
All-time A-League head-to-head: Phoenix 13W, Adelaide 24W & 15D.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Manjrekar JAMES, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 8. Paulo RETRE, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 20. Ramy NAJJARINE, 24. Xuan LOKE, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk), 31. RYAN LEE, 37. Anaru CASSIDY, 39. Jayden SMITH, 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk). Unavailable: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk) (injured), 6. Tim PAYNE (injured), 9. Hideki ISHIGE (injured), 10. Nikola MILEUSNIC (injured), 12. Dan EDWARDS (injured), 19. Nathan WALKER (injured), 23. Luke SUPYK (injured).
Adelaide United squad (two to be omitted): 3. Bart VRIENDS, 4. Panagiotis KIKIANIS, 7. Ryan KITTO, 10. Juan MUÑIZ, 11. Craig GOODWIN, 12. Jonny YULL, 14. Jay BARNETT, 18. Jake NAJDOVSKI, 22. Joshua SMITS, 23. Luke DUZEL, 36. Panashe MADANHA, 40. Ethan COX, 42. Austin AYOUBI, 44. Ryan WHITE, 52. Sotiri PHILLIS, 62. Fabian TALLADIRA, 65. Joey GARUCCIO, 71. Vinko STANISIC, 74. Amlani TATU, 87. Anselmo de MORAES
Unavailable: 9. Luka JOVANOVIĆ (international duty), 19. Yaya DUKULY (international duty), 55. Ethan ALAGICH (international duty) 20. Dylan PIERIAS (long term)
Cover photo credit: Photomac/Cam McIntosh