A relieved Adelaide United play host to a disciplined Sydney FC at Coopers Stadium on Friday night, eager to consolidate on their improved performance against Perth Glory.
The Reds come into this round 10 clash under a set of different circumstances after they registered their first win of the season on Sunday, courtesy of a 1-0 triumph against the Glory. The positive result for the South Australians offers under-pressure boss Guillermo Amor some respite, but knows another setback against Sydney is detrimental to the side’s remote aspirations of qualifying for the finals. Adelaide moved off the foot of the ladder into eighth spot, following its elusive win and have accumulated a meagre six points.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC also ended a winless streak of four-straight matches following a narrow 1-0 victory over Newcastle Jets last Friday. The Sky Blues boast the stingiest defence in the competition under coach Graham Arnold, conceding six goals in nine games and have the least amount of defeats. However, their defensive resilience has has come at a sacrifice as the Harbour City outfit has scored nine goals which is incidentally the worst out of the teams occupying the top six. Perhaps even more concerning and equally frustrating for Arnold is the fact they have scored more than once this campaign on just two separate occasions – most recently in the 4-2 home loss to the Victory in mid-November. Sydney have amassed 16 points and lie in third place on the table.
Key Battle – Marcelo Carrusca vs Alex Brosque
These two players have the potential to single-handedly influence the game’s result. After starting on the bench the past three matches, Carrusca was instrumental in his last game and demonstrated he remains a potent threat in advanced positions. Thwarting the Argentine’s involvement will be crucial for Sydney as he continues to improve following a floundering first two months. For the visitors, Brosque is pivotal to Arnold’s plans if they are to remain a genuine title contender. The 32-year-old has netted three goals so far this term and scored his 50th A-League strike in his previous appearance. The Reds’ defence will have to be wary of the Socceroo and ensure he is attentively marked.
Team News
Amor will likely persist with his preferred 4-3-3 system and could name an unchanged lineup for the clash. Osama Malik remains on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and may return in two weeks’ time, while Iacopo La Rocca is a week away nursing a foot complaint. Bruce Kamau reportedly pulled up lame in training on Monday, but could still feature from the bench. Craig Goodwin returns from suspension, but could be forced to feature on the bench as Amor may want to stick with the same winning formula that overcame the Glory.
As for the visitors, Arnold almost has a complete squad to choose from, causing the experienced tactician a few selection headaches. Ali Abbas is the only absentee through injury as his recovery from an ACL continues. Zac Anderson may also be omitted again after he was not included in the matchday team against the Jets and fellow centre-back Jacques Faty could start at Rhyan Grant’s expense. However, Filip Holosko is a chance of dropping to the substitutes bench after a profligate showing in that 1-0 win, passing up several guilt-edged opportunities.
Head-to-Head
The Reds have had the better of this fixture in recent times and have won 15 encounters to the Sky Blues’ 13, leaving five draws. However, Sydney have not won in the city of churches since February 2012 and have only beaten the Reds once in the past nine meetings and are further winless in six consecutive regular season matches.
Previous Meeting
A 4-1 trouncing of Adelaide by the Sky Blues during last year’s final series was the last time these two sides met in an A-League fixture. However, in the regular season it was United who came up trumps in a 1-0 success at Allianz Stadium thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.
Prediction
With Adelaide getting off the mark for the inaugural time this campaign, confidence is obviously much higher than preceding weeks. Amor appeared to have found the balance in his tactics after deploying Carrusca and Pablo Sanchez into the starting XI and if the players execute the Barcelona icon’s game plan with the same intensity and are clinical in the limited shooting areas that will be presented then perhaps an upset is a possibility. Sydney have struggled for goals of late and ended their run of two consecutive games without a goal against the Jets last Friday. Expect a fairly even contest with the Reds likely to dictate possession and given the Sky Blues’ indifferent form up front as well as their resistant back-four, a draw seems a reasonable outcome.
Adelaide United 1 Sydney FC 1
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