Soccer: All bets off as erratic Phoenix face another cellar-dweller team

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There's a funny sense of deja vu about the Wellington Phoenix's game against the Perth Glory at Westpac Stadium tomorrow.

It was only three weeks ago the Melbourne Heart came to the capital when they were sitting at the bottom of the A-League ladder for a game that seemed like a gimme for Wellington.

But the Phoenix were outplayed in every facet of the contest on February 16 as the Heart stopped Wellington's mid-season momentum with a 5-0 win.

Perth, who now happen to be at the foot of the table, represent a side the Phoenix should beat if they're going to make good on their assertions that they will finish the regular season with a spot in the playoffs.

The Phoenix are in seventh and have gone from the ridiculous to the sublime and back in the past three weeks.

After their 5-0 loss to the Heart, they beat the Mariners 4-1 on the road but were then blasted 5-1 by Adelaide United in South Australia last Thursday.

You wouldn't be able to pick a Phoenix result with the clearest of crystal balls at the moment and things have been blurred further this week, given the raft of injuries which have swept through the squad.

Paul Ifill, Louis Fenton, Albert Riera and Reece Caira are cooked for the season, while Kenny Cunningham (foot) and Carlos Hernandez (calf) are in serious doubt for tomorrow. The versatile Manny Muscat will watch the game from the stands after he was shown a red card against Adelaide.

Wellington have signed English-born defender Shaun Timmins for the rest of the season as cover, while another roadblock has been the mid-week friendly the All Whites played against Japan in Tokyo, which took six Phoenix players out of training.

They've reportedly all returned to Wellington without any major ailments and it will be interesting to see what starting XI Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick can put together for tomorrow's game.

Despite their recent run of results, Merrick remained steadfast in the belief his side would make the top six.

"We want to be in the finals and I think we still will be in the finals," Merrick said.

Wellington have six games left in the regular season, which includes away trips to the Heart, Newcastle and Sydney FC and given the topsy-turvy nature of the league, nothing is a given.

There are plenty of examples of teams staging terrific comebacks but, in the case of tomorrow's second leg of the ASB Premiership semifinal between Auckland City and Waitakere United, this doesn't seem one of them.

There are a number of reasons for this. Not only do Auckland hold a 4-0 advantage heading into the second leg but they are also at home at Kiwitea St, have lost only once all season and conceded only 12 goals in 15 matches. Auckland's biggest danger is complacency.

Team Wellington hold the upper hand in their semifinal after beating Hawkes Bay 2-1 last weekend.