Matildas stars will collide when Western United take on back-to-back champions Melbourne Victory in their Liberty A-League opening-round baptism of fire.
Three of Australia’s high-profile midfielders are set to face off at City Vista Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
On one side, Alex Chidiac and Elise Kellond-Knight will be testing out their brand new Melbourne Victory midfield pairing.
On the other bench, their Matildas team-mate Chloe Logarzo will be champing at the bit to make an impact while earning some much-needed minutes for the A-League Women newcomers.
Chidiac, Victory’s star player on their run to last season’s championship, their second in a row, is relishing the prospect of lining up with Matildas centurion Kellond-Knight.
“I’ve always wanted to play alongside her so I’m really stoked that she’s signed,” Chidiac told AAP.
“I found out super late on and I was excited with the rest of the public.
“I’m really excited to see that partnership grow throughout the season.
“She’s so calm and composed on the ball, so she’ll be able to find me in those pockets as a 10. I feel like she’s going to make me look good this season, that’s for sure.
“I did joke with her that I’m not going to bother coming back and defending – she can do all that work. But she was like, ‘No chance’.”
Logarzo is building up her match fitness having barely spent any time at Western so far due to her late arrival with the club.
A former ALW star with a knack for scoring timely goals for Sydney FC, Logarzo backed Western to give their highly fancied opponents a scare, especially after a pre-season win over Victory.
“Hopefully I’ll be the super-sub,” Logarzo told AAP.Â
“I’ll come in and I’ll do what the team needs.
“It’s going to be really hard for teams in the league who have been established for so long to have a team that has so much drive and desire to want to be here.
“A lot of the girls haven’t played in the league before. So their willingness to want to just outwork every single person is going to be something that is going to be shocking to the league.
“I’m really excited for that injection of energy into the league and I’m really excited to shake up everyone here.”
