Win and the Phoenix book ticket to the playoffs

Wellington Phoenix are on the verge of qualifying for the A-League Men finals series for the first time in two years after Newcastle Jets did them a massive favour by beating Macarthur 3-0 on Sunday.

The Phoenix will be assured a top-six finish if they win one of their remaining two games, against 10th placed Western Sydney Wanderers on Thursday and leaders Melbourne City next Monday, while two draws would also get them across the line.

In fact, their advantage is so great there is still a scenario where they could also lose both games and still qualify so long as other results go their way, but left-back Sam Sutton said it would be better if they removed any doubt heading into the final round by beating the Wanderers at CommBank Stadium.

‘‘It was obviously a good result for us [the Jets beating Macarthur] but Sydney can still get in there so we’ve got to focus on our game,’’ Sutton said. ‘‘We’re all quite hopeful that we can make the top six. It’s in our hands. We’ve just got to win the next game or the one after that and we should be sweet.

‘‘But we don’t want to rely on other results to go our way. The important thing is we do what we can and control the controllables, and that’s the games against Western Sydney and Melbourne City.

‘‘It would be good to get a win and have that security.’’

The Phoenix are sitting in sixth place on 36 points and need only two more points to guarantee a return to the finals, having fallen one short last season after leaving their run too late.

The only team that can still deny the Phoenix a place in the top-six is five-time champions Sydney FC, who are in eighth place on 31 points and have been busy with Asian Champions League commitments in recent weeks.

But the Sky Blues must win both of their remaining fixtures when they return to Australia, against second-placed Melbourne Victory on Saturday and the 11thplaced Brisbane Roar next Tuesday, to have any chance of catching the Phoenix.

Two draws will also be enough for the Phoenix to wrap up a topsix finish even if Sydney win both of their games, but they will miss out on the playoffs if they end up on the same amount of points as Sydney as the Nix have a shocking goal difference of -15 after suffering six defeats by four or more goals this season.

While it is relatively common for teams to qualify for the finals with a negative goal difference, only once has a team made the topsix with a negative goal difference in the double digits and that was the 2009-10 Jets who had a GD (goal difference) of -12.

The Phoenix lost 3-1 to the Victory on Friday in a game that saw three penalties awarded following VAR intervention.

‘‘It was a bit mental with all those decisions,’’ said Sutton, who had a shot cannon off the post before halftime.

‘‘It was disappointing we didn’t get the result but we still have a great opportunity against Western Sydney in this upcoming game, and hopefully we can focus on that now and put the last one behind us.’’