Liberty’s Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week: Young Stars from Glory Shine Bright

Stay informed with the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week, powered by Opta.

The 2025-26 season of the Isuzu UTE A-League delivered plenty of excitement and drama over the weekend.

During Round 24, Newcastle Jets maintained their three-point advantage over Auckland FC at the summit of the table, as both sides ended their matches in draws.

This week’s standout performer was Perth Glory midfielder Nicholas Pennington, who was instrumental in Perth’s impressive 3-1 victory over Macarthur Bulls at HBF Park.

This season, Opta is powering the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week with Opta Points—a comprehensive metric that assesses a player’s total contribution during matches. Each Monday, the Team of the Week will be showcased in a 4-3-3 formation, featuring the top-performing players.

*Editor’s Note: The Team of the Week is based on matches played from Monday to Sunday, and some clubs may compete more than once.

Joining Pennington in the midfield of this week’s Team of the Week are Melbourne City midfielder Daniel Arzani, who contributed to both of City’s victories this week, and Wellington Phoenix skipper Alex Rufer, who also earns a spot.

Two additional Perth Glory players make the cut up front, as young talents Sebastian Despotovski and Gabriel Popovic secured their places by scoring in the Glory’s 3-1 triumph over Macarthur. Auckland FC striker Sam Cosgrove makes another appearance in the line-up.

The defence sees three full-backs, with Melbourne City’s captain Aziz Behich and teammate Nathaniel Atkinson both acknowledged after their performances over the last week. Jets defender Daniel Wilmering is selected for his key equaliser against Adelaide, while Western Sydney Wanderers defender Anthony Pantazopoulos earned enough points for a spot in the team.

Finally, Sydney FC goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares continues to impress and is once again included after his solid showing in the Sky Blues’ 2-0 derby win over the Wanderers.

Opta Points is a system that awards points to players based on specific on-field actions. Typically, players who complete the entire match can accumulate between 10 to 40 points. (See the complete breakdown of Opta Points below).

Explained: Opta’s Team of the Week using Opta Points

The scoring system differentiates only between field players and goalkeepers, with the same points awarded for similar actions across all field players. Notably, it focuses solely on in-game actions and does not offer points for post-match outcomes, such as winning a game or additional bonuses for keeping a clean sheet.

Positive actions (such as goals, successful passes, and tackles) will increase a player’s score, while negative actions (like cards, own goals, or goals conceded) will decrease it. In theory, a player’s points can be unlimited, including the possibility of concluding a match with negative points. Nevertheless, players who play the entire match typically finish with a point total between 10 to 40 points.

Included in the Opta Points system are goals, shots on target, shots off target, blocked shots, own goals, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalties won, and saves.