Adelaide United will be looking to continue their remarkable resurgence when they host Sydney FC on Friday night.
Adelaide remain the in-form side of the competition after securing a fourth consecutive win and are now undefeated in nine matches. Not since October 2010 (13 games unbeaten) have the Reds been on such a streak and will hope to capitalise on Sydney’s present floundering state. Despite recording a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Newcastle Jets in a scrappy contest on Sunday, the most important aspect for Adelaide was that they collected the three points. It was their most disjointed outing since a 2-1 loss to Melbourne Victory in November but to win, albeit ugly, is crucial for the Reds’ ascension up the table and speaks volumes of their resilience. United currently lie in sixth place on 26 points, though a triumph over the Sky Blues could see them provisionally jump as high as third.
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Meanwhile, Sydney FC have inconveniently hit a proverbial roadblock, suffering successive losses for the first time this season. After going five games without defeat, including a 2-1 conquest over city rivals Western Sydney Wanderers, the harbour outfit has since struggled defensively – the cornerstone of Graham Arnold’s pragmatic philosophy. Although Arnold could not fault his players for their effort against Melbourne Victory two weeks ago, his side disintegrated 3-1 to Brisbane Roar in inclement conditions at home.
The Sky Blues are situated one place above the South Australians with 27 points.
Key Battle – Marcelo Carrusca vs Milos Ninkovic
The outcome of the match could hinge on these two players in what is predicted to be a riveting midfield battle as both sides prefer to keep the ball rather than sit off and play on the counter. The Argentine has been in fine fettle during the club’s extraordinary turnaround, scoring five goals and allowing fans to marvel at his sumptuous skills and delicate touches with the ball.
In contrast, Ninkovic will need to have an instrumental role in orchestrating Sydney’s forward play, especially in transition. If his passing game is on song, he has the potential to create havoc and thread inch-perfect passes in behind Adelaide’s defence. However, consistency has bereft the Serbian at times this season and must improve for the sake of their title aspirations.
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Guillermo Amor is expected to insert Sergio Cirio back into the starting lineup at Pablo Sanchez’s expense and confronts the difficult challenge of entrusting Jordan Elsey on the flank or recall natural right-back Michael Marrone, given he provides more from an attacking perspective. George Mells should also maintain his spot in the XI following a solid game in midfield, meaning new recruit Stefan Mauk will have to bide his time before cementing a starting berth in Amor’s team. Nevertheless, the Spaniard will have one eye on their do-or-die AFC Champions League meeting with China’s Shandong Luneng on 9 February for a place in the competition.
As for Sydney, Arnold could ring the changes for Friday night’s intriguing clash due their setback against Brisbane. One guaranteed omission is prodigious defender Alex Gersbach, who signed for Norwegian giants Rosenborg BK. However, new acquisition David Carney will travel with the squad to Adelaide, despite moving from Newcastle on Tuesday. George Blackwood may be dropped for veteran Shane Smeltz, while Alex Brosque remains on the sidelines for another week with a hamstring injury.
Head-to-Head
The Reds have had the better of this fixture in recent times and have won 16 encounters to the Sky Blues’ 13, leaving five draws. However, Sydney have not come up trumps in the city of churches since February 2012 and have only beaten the Reds once in the past 10 league meetings and are winless in a further seven straight regular season matches.
Previous Meeting
Adelaide secured a last-gasp 2-1 win over their counterparts in December courtesy of a successfully converted stoppage time penalty from Carrusca to send the home crowd into scenes of elation.
Prediction
If the Reds acquit themselves in the same manner as they did against Newcastle, anticipate their nine-game undefeated streak to come to a dramatic end. In stark contrast, if Adelaide reach their capacity and demonstrate poise and fluidity in possession during proceedings, the result should take care of itself. Arnold’s side will be organised with the emphasis on defensive structure paramount, though are equally capable of simultaneously keeping the ball.
However, due to the Sky Blues’ dismal recent league record against their counterparts and the fact United are at home, it appears their four-game winning stretch will extend to five matches.
Adelaide United 2 Sydney FC 1
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