Round 5 Preview – Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
The Big Blue. The beyondblue Cup. Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory. It goes by many names, but something which is a certainty every time the two A-League powerhouse clubs meet is fireworks, drama and an unpredictable result. The Melbourne & Sydney derbies may have taken some of the attention away from this fixture, but for some, the Melbourne vs Sydney rivalry is unparallelled.
Last week:
Victim of sloppy refereeing and sub-par finishing last week against the Glory, Sydney are desperate to save not only their season, but their coach. Frank Farina came out swinging against trolls this week, and with the dreaded vote of confidence also showing its head, the Sky Blues know that they hold their coach’s career in their hands. A loss in this derby may spell doom for yet another Sydney FC coach.
Melbourne will be looking to shore up their defense after they nearly surrendered a 3 goal lead against the competition dark horse, Wellington Phoenix. Their attack appears to be coming along nicely, so new coach Kevin Muscat should take a lot of confidence into this fixture.
Head-to-head:
Played: 27
Sydney FC: 6
Melbourne Victory: 9
Draw: 12
Sydney FC
A much-improved defensive and possession effort last week will give the Sky Blues a measure of boosted confidence going into this game. However the return of Alessandro Del Piero is a welcome one, despite this effectively leaving the team with 9 defenders against a slick Melbourne Victory outfit. His inspirational captaincy will give the team hope that they can overcome the odds.
The return of Pedj Bojic to the defensive line will give Sydney some further impetus down the right flank, leaving Farina with a rare defensive headache. None of the defenders were poor enough to drop after last week’s performance, so someone will have to make way. However, if I had to pick one, it would be Seb Ryall. I don’t know if it’s intentional or a part of Ryall’s game, but against Perth his refusal to get stuck in on challenges put a lot of pressure on his team mates.
Terry McFlynn also returns to the squad after battling injury, but will most likely end up on the bench, as Brett Emerton showed glimpses of form last week.
For Sydney to do well against the Victory, they need to keep their shape and remain disciplined. Melbourne have players who can attack from both the flanks and the middle, so Sydney can’t rely on starving service down one side of the pitch. Del Piero needs to be used wisely; keeping him up-front alone is a great example of how not to do this. Sydney need to bring the much-talked about 4-3-3 formation into this game, so the other Sydney players can shepard their legendary playmaker.
Injury report:
Rhyan GRANT (knee – long term)
Peter TRIANTIS (groin – long term)
Terry ANTONIS (thigh – long term)
Corey GAMEIRO (knee – 2 weeks)
Sydney FC’s possible starting XI: 4-3-3
Janjetovic
Bojic Tiago Petkovic Warren
Garcia
Abbas Carle
Naumoff Del Piero Yau
Melbourne Victory
In a fixture which generates more than its fair share of draws, Melbourne arguably have the squad needed to get a win out of this encounter. Despite their almost-calamitous defending last week, the fact they put three goals in the back of the net against the Phoenix will boost them regardless.
Not only this, but the Victory are going for the psychological edge as well by bringing Andrew Nabbout back into the squad. The youthful attacking player single-handedly gave Melbourne a memorable victory against the Sky Blues last season, so he is a good replacement for missing striker Kosta Barbarouses.
For Victory to do well against Sydney, they need to take advantage of Sydney’s desire to bring Del Piero into play. Milligan will have his hands full against the Italian superstar, but they need to be wary of Sydney’s speedster up front, Yairo Yau. If he gets in behind the defensive line, he may prove difficult to stop. On the attacking front, Victory need to focus on catching Sydney on the break. The Sky Blues have fullbacks who track a very long way up the pitch, leaving the centre of defense relatively isolated. With Nick Carle being pushed further up the pitch, Sydney’s centre backs will have a huge job to do.
Injury report:
Outs: 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES (international duty)
Melbourne Victory possible starting XI: 4-2-3-1
Coe
Traore Ansell Contreras Geria
Broxham Milligan
Nichols Finkler Troisi
Thompson
Key Players
Sydney FC: Richard Garcia
The last few weeks have shown that Garcia, as a striker, is an unsuccessful experiment. With ADP back in the squad, Garcia should return to the midfield alongside Carle and Abbas. Why is he the key? Because Carle and Abbas will be heavily focusing on attacking play. Garcia will be charged with keeping attacks through the middle of the park from materialising. He is a better player with Sydney FC players in front of him, so if he is pulled from front-line duties, he should repeat his decent performance from Round 1.
Melbourne Victory: James Troisi
The ever-improving Serie A player will be charged with leading counter-attacking plays, standard attacking moves and disrupting Sydney’s midfield trio. Archie Thompson will be dependent on smart passes from midfield, so Troisi and his midfield companions will have their work cut out.
But importantly, Troisi arguably has the best chance of getting past Sydney’s centre defensive pairing. With the fullbacks likely to be occupied further up the park, if Troisi can get past Petkovic and Co, he’ll have a field day.
Fun facts:
Melbourne Victory have conceded 18 goals at Allianz Stadium, however they’ve scored 17. This goes a way to explaining their 7 draws, totaling 53% of their results at Allianz.
Archie Thompson has scored 5 goals in 9 games at Allianz.
Final Verdict
Sydney FC will be desperate for at least one point to arrest their slide down the ladder, so with ADP back in the line-up, they will come out strong. Whether they get anything out of this game all depends on how much possession they manage. There will be tackles… a lot of tackles. Both sides will be scrappy in defense as they try to keep the upper hand over their opponents.
Melbourne always enjoy beating Sydney-based teams, especially the Sky Blues. With Sydney in a slump, they will be looking to continue their misery by turning on a good performance for their away fans.
Ultimately though, history shows these two teams are fond of drawing against each other. If Melbourne score more than 2 goals, Sydney probably won’t come back from that. However Sydney’s defensive line-up should be more capable after taking some confidence out of last week combined with the return of Bojic.
Score prediction:
Sydney FC 1 – 1 Melbourne Victory
