Matthew Spiranovic staking his claim for spot in Western Sydney Wanderers defensive line-up MATTHEW Spiranovic is yet to make his debut for Western Sydney Wanderers, but hes already making a difference at the club. The Socceroos central defender was the club's major signing during the off-season and, now that he's fit, is snapping at the heels of Michael Beauchamp and Nikolai Topor-Stanley. The competition for places is heating up and Beauchamp knows there's no room for error. "There's a lot of competition there across the park," the skipper said. At the moment I think myself and Topor are doing well, but it's not to say Spiro isn't training well. We have to be smart about what we do and keep on our toes because obviously he's a quality player. But at the end of the day those decisions are up to the boss. I'm not going to lose sleep over it - I'll concentrate on my own game and go from there. It's exactly the kind of situation coach Tony Popovic wanted and he admits there isn't much keeping Spiranovic off the park. "He's like the other players - they're all ready to go and they all feel they're ready to go," Popovic said. But I'd like to see him get some more training in for another week or two to be his best. That's not to say that he couldn't play now. Brendon Santalab is expected to replace Youssouf Hersi for Friday's home game against Adelaide. The midfielder had his foot stomped on in last weekend's Sydney derby and is still walking around in a moon boot. "He's improved a lot, but that's just precautionary at the moment with the boot on," Popovic said. The main thing is there's no serious damage and we want to do the best by the player and we're happy with how he's progressing, but he won't be available. It's just bone bruising, quite severe bruising, and it hasn't quite settled enough. But there's no serious damage there, which is the most important thing. Former Wanderers player Tarek Elrich will have plenty to prove when he returns to Parramatta with his new club, but Popovic isn't worried about any secrets hay may have revealed to his Adelaide teammates. "I'm sure he'll give them some information, which is normal for when players move," Popovic said. It's good to see him out there. He did great for the club and we've got a good relationship with him and it will be good to see him (tonight). Popovic isn't expecting a repeat of last year's fixture, when the Reds were on the receiving end of a 6-1 thrashing at Pirtek Stadium. "We haven't spoken about last year's results," Popovic said.That's like us talking about winning the league last year - that's gone, that's done. It's a new season, a new challenge, we're just concentrating on this Adelaide team and our team that's playing against them for this match. Wanderers signing Matthew Spiranovic is knocking on the door for a first-team call-up.