A-League Men: Perth Glory midfielder Will Freney ready for battle against reigning champions Melbourne City

Perth Glory midfielder Will Freney is ready for a midfield battle against Melbourne City as his side prepare for a treacherous two-game road swing in Victoria. Game one of Perth’s two-match residency at AAMI Park kicks off on Sunday when Glory take on the reigning champions in their own backyard. City may be still licking their wounds from last weekend’s Melbourne derby loss to cross-town rivals Victory and a mid-week draw with Macarthur, but Freney is live to the threat City pose. The fifth-placed side lead the league for average possession per game with 57.4 per cent and like to crowd the midfield with their wide players and forwards rotating in and out to create overloads. Even without the ball, City’s structure forces teams into mistakes and they took glee in beating Perth 4-0 at AAMI Park earlier in the season — a result which spelled the end of David Zdrilic’s reign as coach. “Melbourne City are great with the ball, but they’re also a great pressing team,” Freney said. “All I can do really, is just talk to my two strikers, listen to my two center backs and try and take in as much information as I can, look for the wingers or the strikers rolling in, just try and block passing lanes.” Glory are hoping Adam Taggart and Rhys Bozinovski will be fit enough to take their place in the starting line-up after missing Perth’s 1-0 loss to Adelaide United with groin injuries. Freney said the return of midfield partner Bozinovski would be a sizable boost and he was enjoying his own extended run in the middle of the park. “He’s come in really well, really settled in off the pitch and all season he’s been great and I feel the last three or four games playing next to him has been really nice,” he said. “We’ve been creating a really good partnership there and hopefully we can keep that going. “The first three or four games of the season, I was playing off the left and off the right, which I’m glad to do but I’m not really comfortable out there. “Playing as a six, that’s where I’ve grown up playing, it’s where I’m comfortable and I feel the last three or four games that’s shown.” Despite having lost two on the bounce, the 20 year-old was confident a return to winning ways under new coach Adam Griffiths was not far off. “The last five or six weeks as a team, we’ve been improving day-by-day, and the mood has also been improved,” he said. “The boys are still confident we can go to Melbourne, play against City and Victory, play well and get three points in both games.”