FFA Cup Preview – Melbourne City v Sydney FC

FFA CUP – ROUND OF 32

TUESDAY 12th AUGUST 7:30 KO

MORSHEAD PARK STADIUM, BALLARAT

#MBCvSYD #FFACUP

 

 

Melbourne City take on Sydney FC is what will be their first competitive match as ‘Melbourne City’.  Ballarat will play host to this historic occasion which promises to be one of the best games in the round of 32.  Both squads are vastly different from last season and will be looking towards the FFA Cup to give their fans something to cheer about.

Graham Arnold has decided against bringing Shane Smeltz, Marco Janko or Alex Brosque to Ballarat for the tie, but has a squad with plenty of A-League experience.  It will be interesting to see the use of Nicky Carle as he makes somewhat of a return to Sydney after falling out of favour with Frank Farina.  Bernie Ibini might just pop up with the winning goal, something he managed to do three times late in the season last year with the Mariners.

Melbourne City has added multiple players to their squad and should start the match as slight favourites.  The squad is coming together nicely after their English tour where they had full access to big brother Manchester City training facility.  New international marquee signing Robert Koren won’t play, only completing four training sessions thus far.

Fans travelling to the game should be aware Ballarat will be colder than the reception Graham Arnold will receive when returning to the Central Coast and thermals will be a recommended addition to the usual game day attire for any fan.

Given the time of year and where each team are with their preparation don’t expect a sharp compact game.  Both teams are short on match fitness which will allow both teams to play an open style of play.  The cold brisk conditions will also hinder the players, but could add drama to the cup tie.

Head to Head

Melbourne City (as Heart) 4 Draw 5 Sydney 3

Last time they met – Melbourne Heart 2 defeated Sydney 1

David Williams 89^th minute winner saw a ten man Heart take the three points against a disappointing Sydney.  Heart played with 10 men for almost an hour after Orlando Engelaar was sent off in the 33^rd minute.  Corey Gameiro and Jonatan Germano were the other goal scorers.

Squads –

Melbourne City squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Rob WIELAERT, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 6.Aaron MOOY, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 10.Robert KOREN, 11.Damien DUFF, 13.Jonathan GERMANO, 14.James BROWN, 15.David WILLIAMS, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 18. Paulo RETRE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21.Stefan MAUK, 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC, 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 25.Jacob MELLING, 26.Ross ARCHIBALD, 30.Marko STEVANJA (GK)

Sydney FC squad: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (GK), 2.Sebastian RYALL, 3.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 4.Pedj BOJIC, 5.Matthew JURMAN, 6.Nikola PETKOVIC, 7.Corey GAMEIRO, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 11.Bernie IBINI, 12.Hagi GLIGOR, 13.Alex GERSBACH, 16.Chris NAUMOFF, 17.Terry ANTONIS, 18.Peter TRIANTIS, 19.Nick CARLE, 20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (GK), 22.Ali ABBAS, 23.Rhyan GRANT

Key Players

Aaron Mooy (Melbourne City) – Mooy will be keen to establish himself in the City midfield after a disappointing end to his Wanderers stint.  Mooy will be a valuable player alongside Murdocca and Koren during the season, but his first official game for City on Australian soil could be an important step for him winning over the City supporters.

Sasa Ognenovski (Sydney FC) – After the disappointment of missing the World Cup in Brazil Ognenovski will be looking to show fans throughout Australia who really should’ve been in the final 23.  Having retired from Socceroos duty Ognenovski only has Sydney duties to concern himself with and will be at the heart of the defence.  The determined defender will need to be at the top of his game to stop Williams, Duff and Dugandzic.

Prediction – Melbourne City 3-1

Tickets are only available at the gate on a first come, first served basis and an audio stream will be available from www.livecast.com.au

Google+