Newcastle will face Adelaide at Cooper Stadium on Tuesday, September 17, for a berth in the semi-finals.

There are three NPL teams in the last eight - Hume City and Moreland Zebras (both Victoria) and Brisbane Strikers - but Merrick was quite content to face another A-League opponent, leading into Newcastle's season-opening game against Central Coast on October 19.

"I think it's pretty well ideal," Merrick said.

"The tougher the pre-season, the better the preparation. So to play Adelaide away from home, you don't get much tougher than that, so I think it's good for us."

Merrick said he had not seen much of Adelaide under new coach Getjan Verbeek but would study them on video leading into the game.

Newcastle had two draws against Adelaide last season (0-0 and 1-1) and a 2-1 loss.

The Jets travel to Gold Coast this weekend for trial matches against Brisbane Roar on Sunday and Perth on Tuesday, then face Sydney FC in Dubbo four days after their knockout game in Adelaide.

"The Adelaide match fits well into our schedule," Merrick said. "The games aren't too crammed up.

"The Tuesday is good for us, because the following weekend we play in Dubbo.

"And playing away from home puts the boys under a bit more pressure, which is ideal at this time of year."

Merrick was confident senior players Nigel Boogaard, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Glen Moss and Ben Kantaorvski, all of whom are recovering from injuries, would be fit for the cup semi.

AAP REPORTS: Robbie Fowler's hopes of a FFA Cup quarter-final berth were undone by Central Coast Mariners as last season's A-League wooden-spooners collected a penalty shoot-out win over Brisbane Roar on Wednesday.

Mark Birighitti was the hero for the Mariners, saving spot-kicks from Roy O'Donovan and Thomas Aldred for a 4-2 shootout win, following a 2-2 draw at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe.

The Roar, having seen off A-League champions Sydney FC a fortnight ago in Fowler's debut as coach, created enough chances throughout the 120 minutes, but ultimately paid a price for their profligacy.

Western Sydney Wanderers had far less trouble progressing to their fifth consecutive quarter-final, completing a near-record 7-1 victory over one-time National Soccer League powerhouse Sydney United.

Daniel Georgievski was the unlikely attacking hero with the fullback scoring twice and playing a part in several other goals.

The Wanderers raced to a 3-0 half-time advantage having also hit the frame of the goal in a dominant display.

Sydney United briefly rallied after the break, pulling a goal back from Patrick Antelmi.

But they lost their way after the dismissal of Yianni Perkatis following his role in a fracas. The Wanderers continued to pile on the pain and the scoreline could have been blown out even more as United survived several near misses.

The Cup record score is an 8-0 win recorded by Sydney FC over Darwin amateurs Shamrock Rovers in 2017.

Melbourne-based cup specialists Hume City continued their run in collecting a 3-1 comeback win at Adelaide Olympic.

Marko Delic bagged a hat-trick to be the goalscoring hero for the visitors.

Brisbane Strikers completed the last-eight line-up with a gritty 1-0 home win over Manly United at Perry Park.

A towering headed goal from defender Matthew Richardson just past the hour mark proved the difference as the former national champions progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time.