Brisbane Roar have the chance to do their best impression of an Olympic hurdler when they take on the Central Coast Mariners in a high-stakes clash on Wednesday night.
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The Roar sit in seventh position on 30 points, but remarkably they will leapfrog their way to second spot with a win over the Mariners at Moreton Daily Stadium.
The fourth-placed Mariners (32 points) can also make a giant leap of their own, with a win or a draw enough to see them go into second spot.
Melbourne City are nine points clear on top of the ladder and appear set to be the runaway winners of the A-League premiers plate.
But just two points separates second and seventh spot, while eighth-placed Western United (28 points) and ninth-placed Wellington (27) are still well and truly in the finals mix.
The Roar have been in good recent form, posting four wins and a draw from five matches before Sunday's fighting 3-2 loss to Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
Central Coast were the early pacesetters this season, but they have come back to the pack following a period in which they've posted just one win from their past nine matches.
The Mariners are desperate to end their current five-match winless run.
They are also keen to exact revenge on the Roar after being thumped 4-0 by Brisbane at Central Coast Stadium two weeks ago.
In Wednesday's other match, Perth Glory will play host to Western United at HBF Park in a game crucial to the finals hopes of both teams.
Glory snapped a six-match winless run with a 2-1 triumph over Melbourne Victory on Sunday, but they are still nine points adrift of sixth spot with games in hand.
Western United are three points adrift of sixth spot, and are still licking their wounds from Saturday's 5-0 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers.
Glory midfielder Neil Kilkenny has been left out of the match day squad for a second straight game, while defender Jason Geria returns from injury.
Perth lost 5-4 to Western United in January, but coach Richard Garcia doesn't think the rematch will follow a similar pattern.
"The last game against them was a bit of a strange one," Garcia said.
"It was very end-to-end. It was our second game of the year.
"They have got attacking threats, but so do we. It's about us having that focus of not conceding."
Australian Associated Press
