#ALeagueFinals Melbourne v Sydney
Etihad Stadium Friday 18th April (Good Friday) 7:30pm
Referee: Peter Green Live on FoxSports, hour delay on SBS2
Garcia finds the back of the net in the 92nd minute and just like that the Melbourne v Sydney rivalry becomes the first fixture of the #ALeagueFinals sudden death series. Sure Adelaide missed a golden opportunity to knock out arch rivals Victory but the Melbourne/Sydney showdown has the potential to be the clash of the finals.
Traditionally Good Friday has been a sports free zone in the heartland of Melbourne but the A-League and Super Rugby have decided to both take advantage of an AFL free zone. Good Friday has been crying out for a sporting contest for years, and what a contest Melbourne v Sydney promises to be. Sydney hold the upper hand in the head to head battle this year, but a 2-0 win during the week in the Champions league has released a new found confidence in Kevin Muscat’s men.
Victory is still without Tom Rogic but regain marquee defender Pablo Contreras who was outstanding midweek. He will miss defensive partner Adrian Leijer who is out with an ankle injury and could prove a major blow to the sometimes paper thin Victory defence. Mahazi and Nabbout have been named in an extended squad. Last week Archie Thompson helped kick start the rout of Wellington Phoenix and this could provide him with the much needed confidence, Thompson hasn’t set the world on fire this season, but we all know how dangerous the man can be at Etihad during finals time. He will be supported by key playmakers James Troisi and Mark Milligan who will try and dictate the game on Melbourne’s terms.
Sydney hardly has the perfect finals preparation in a dour affair against Perth. The match will be quickly forgotten in what was one of the worst performances of the season. Both Sydney and Perth looked flat on a heavy, weather affected pitch. Newcastle fans were hoping for a far different result but history (and Adam Taggart) will remind us they only have themselves to blame. The match seemed to take an eternity to finish and we should only take one positive from the match, the tribute to Terry McFlynn from the supporters. Sydney should be the fresher team on Friday night but have a far older squad. Del Piero and Ognenovski will be the key players and will need to perform accordingly.
Potentially the final act in the Del Piero playing career this match is set to be the perfect start to the finals series. Ninety minutes (plus extra time) stands in between Sydney and Melbourne. Let the games begin…
The Season So Far
Round Five – Sydney 3 (Garcia, Ryall & Del Piero) defeated Melbourne Victory 2 (Thompson & Troisi) Allianz Stadium.
Round Sixteen – Melbourne 0 lost to Sydney 5 (Del Piero 2, Despotovic, Ryall, & Carle) Etihad Stadium.
Round Twenty-Five – Melbourne Victory 1 (Troisi) drew with Sydney 1 (Chianese) AAMI Park.
Last Five Matches
Victory: WLDDW (8 points)
Sydney: DLDWW (8 points)
Head to Head
Played: 30 Victory: 9 Draws: 13 Sydney: 8
Goals scored: Victory: 42 Sydney: 41
Possible Starting XI
Melbourne Victory
COE
TRAORE CONTRERAS ANSELLGALLOWAY
TROISI MILLIGAN BROXHAM BARBAROUSES
FINKLER TROISI
SUBS: PAIN THOMAS JEGGO GERIA NABBOUT
Sydney
JANJETOVIC
JURMAN PETKOVIC OGNENOVSKI RYALL
ABBAS ANTONIS THOMPSON
GARCIA DEL PIEO DESPOTOVIC
Subs: DIMITRIJEVIC GLIGOR NECEVSKI GLIGOR CALVER
The Treatment Table (Missing through injury)
Melbourne Victory
Rogic 1-2 weeks (groin), Leijer 1 week (foot)
Sydney
McFlynn 1 week (thigh), Grant Season (knee), Bojic Season (back)
Eyes on…
James Troisi has been outstanding for Victory this season, but needs to produce this form for as long as long as the campaign lasts. Troisi was at his best during the midweek ACL match and scored in two of the three matches against Sydney this season. Alongside Milligan he must dominate the midfield and blunt the attacking presence of Alessandro Del Piero. After his midseason form slump Nathan Coe showed supporters and his coach why he should always be between the sticks for Victory.
Hard not to predict Del Piero will have a significant say in what happens in this match. This could be the final match he plays for SydneyFC (contract pending) and like always he will give everything on the pitch. Sure he has slowed down a little but the football brain is still sharp and players will feed off his presence. Expect ADP to be helped by Garcia and Ognenovski as Sydney look to break down a much disciplined Melbourne.
Prediction: Tactically this game should follow a typical script of the home game dominating possession, whilst the away team beats them on the counter attack. Muscat will be keen for his players to continue their midweek form and dominate possession. Sydney will be reliant on Garcia and Abbas to start any attacking mindset throughout the 90 minutes. The form of Nathan Coe could just be the difference between the two teams, in what will be a hotly contested affair. I’m predicting Victory 2-1, with Troisi and Archie Thompson finding the back of the net. Victory 2-1
FTSAUS FACTS:
Stadium Fact: 33% of the time Victory play Sydney at Etihad the following happens, Sydney wins, Melbourne wins and the two teams draw. Don’t ask me what happens to the other 1%.
Victory Fact: Victory has a 53% winning ratio at both Etihad and AAMI Park. Olympic Park is currently the clubs most successful home ground on 54%.
Sydney Fact: Six players in the league played every single minute of the season (2,430), three of them were Sydney players; Ali Abbas, Vedran Janjetovic and Nikola Petkovic.
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