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

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

The 2025-26 season of the Isuzu UTE A-League delivered an action-packed weekend filled with excitement and intrigue.

In Round 24, the Newcastle Jets preserved their three-point advantage over Auckland FC at the summit of the table, as both teams settled for draws during the weekend’s fixtures.

This week’s standout player was Perth Glory midfielder Nicholas Pennington, who shone in his side’s 3-1 victory over the Macarthur Bulls at HBF Park.

This season, the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week is powered by Opta Points, a detailed player metric that assesses a player’s overall impact on the match. Each Monday, the Team of the Week is unveiled in a 4-3-3 formation, showcasing the top-performing players.

*Editor’s Note: The Team of the Week includes matches played from Monday to Sunday – some teams may compete more than once.

Alongside Pennington in this week’s Team of the Week is Melbourne City’s Daniel Arzani, who contributed significantly to both of City’s wins this week, while Wellington Phoenix captain Alex Rufer also earns a well-deserved spot.

Two more players from Perth Glory, the promising youngsters Sebastian Despotovski and Gabriel Popovic, secured their places in the squad after scoring in the Glory’s 3-1 triumph over Macarthur. Additionally, Auckland FC striker Sam Cosgrove is again included.

This week’s defensive line features three skilled full-backs, with Melbourne City captain Aziz Behich and teammate Nathaniel Atkinson earning selection after participating in two matches over the past week. Jets defender Daniel Wilmering is included after netting a vital equaliser against Adelaide, while Western Sydney Wanderers’ Anthony Pantazopoulos accumulated enough points for his selection.

Last but not least, Sydney FC goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares has once again been chosen following a commanding performance in the Sky Blues’ 2-0 derby win against the Wanderers.

Opta Points is a rating system where points are awarded to players based on specific actions during a match. Generally, players who complete the full duration of a match can expect to accumulate between 10 to 40 points. (You can view the complete breakdown of Opta Points below).

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

This scoring system differentiates between field players and goalkeepers, assigning the same number of points for similar actions to all field players. A unique feature of this system is its sole concentration on in-game actions, refraining from granting points for post-match achievements, such as registering a win or offering bonus points for keeping a clean sheet.

Positive contributions (goals, passes, tackles, etc.) will enhance a player’s score, while negative records (cards, own goals, conceded goals) will deduct points. Theoretically, there’s no cap on a player’s points total; they can finish a match with negative points if their performance warrants it. However, players who play the entire match typically score between 10 and 40 points.

Factors included in the Opta Points scoring encompass goals, shots on target, off-target shots, blocked attempts, own goals, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalties won, saves, and saved penalties.