Roar will be fresh for A-L semi: Aloisi

Apr 25, 2017 - 6:09 AM John Aloisi is confident Brisbane Roar can keep their AFC Champions League campaign alive in Thailand on Wednesday night and still be fresh for Sunday's A-League semi-final against Melbourne Victory.

Aloisi has had plenty of experience in juggling his squad for the two competitions and believes he has struck the right balance for the most important week of their season to date.

The only first-team regulars who have travelled for the must-win clash against Group E leaders Muangthong United are Luke DeVere, Jamie Young, Thomas Broich, Brandon Borrello, Joe Calletti and Manuel Arana.

Aloisi admits not all of them will start and few, if any, will play a full 90 minutes - particularly in light of their gruelling 120-minute battle against Western Sydney last week and the hot and humid conditions they will face in Thailand, with a forecast temperature of around 33 degrees at kick-off.

Jamie Maclaren, Brett Holman, Tommy Oar and Thomas Kristensen have been left at home - along with Corey Brown and Avraam Papadopoulos, who are serving ACL suspensions - while Jack Hingert (cheekbone), Jade North (illness) and Matt McKay (knee) are recovering from injuries and are all in with a shot of taking on Victory.

The entire squad will reunite on Thursday night in Melbourne and will have two full days of training before the AAMI Park clash, where they'll get a shot at a fourth A-League grand final appearance.

"It's enough. I actually think we'll prepare well," Aloisi told AAP.

"People say the extra time would have taken a lot out of the boys but we've got a long week to recover from that, and it mainly is about recovery this week.

"But whoever I put out there (on Wednesday) will be focused on this game first.

"A lot of them will be young boys who probably feel this is their chance to show everyone what they can do."

Teenage striker Nick D'Agostino is a good example.

The 19-year-old Gold Coast product is bound for a bigger role in the squad next season - assuming Maclaren leaves the Roar as expected - and Aloisi believes he has started to demonstrate his potential in the last couple of months.

"He's really stepping up on the big stage, as well - he's able to deal with the pressure and he's starting to feel like he's a real part of it, which is important," Aloisi said.

The Roar have to beat Muangthong to have any chance of reaching the ACL's knockout phase.

HOW JOHN ALOISI IS JUGGLING BRISBANE ROAR'S SQUAD

First-team regulars in Thailand: Luke DeVere, Jamie Young, Thomas Broich, Brandon Borrello, Joe Calletti, Manuel Arana.

Suspended from ACL: Corey Brown, Avraam Papadopoulos.

Rested for Sunday: Jamie Maclaren, Tommy Oar, Brett Holman, Thomas Kristensen.

Recovering from injury: Jade North (illness), Matt McKay (knee), Jack Hingert (cheekbone).

Source: AAP