Both Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix will be looking to this fixture as a springboard to future success.
Win, and formulate some sort of consistency before heading into the tough December festive period. Lose, and it is another three points dropped and momentum lost heading into arguably the toughest period of the season.
Sydney and Wellington are both clubs that have yet to find a rhythm so far this season and each currently sit mid-table after seven rounds of A-League action. After their first loss of the season at home to the Victory in round six, the highly rated Sydney FC drew 0-0 with Perth Glory in round seven to register a winless run of three games. The Phoenix followed up a draw at Central Coast in round five with a resounding home victory over bottom side Adelaide United, but slipped up away to the Western Sydney Wanderers in round seven.
As the Phoenix team remains in Sydney in anticipation of the game against Graham Arnold’s charges, veteran Ben Sigmund has been flown home due to an ongoing virus and concussion suffered in the game against the Wanderers. Sigmund’s replacement is Vince Lia, who is being flown across the Tasman after he overcame a leg injury suffered in round four.
In their match against the Wanderers, the Phoenix’s opposition did an excellent job of keeping danger men Roy Krishna and Roly Bonevacia quiet. This combined with an exhausted Michael McGlinchey’s midweek international excursion as well as Sigmund’s departure early in the second-half to ensure the Nix left Parramatta with no positives to take from the encounter. Ernie Merrick was blunt in his assessment of the loss, saying his team took a “backward step” and that defensive lapses from set pieces cost them the game.
“I was also disappointed we conceded again from a corner kick, and we keep giving them away,” Merrick said.
Another issue that Merrick must address is the lack of conviction shown by big-name signing Jeffrey Sarpong, who has shown glimpses of his talent but is yet to set the A-League alight with his talent. Having scored no goals and assisted only one this season, much more is required from the former Eredivisie talent.
The Phoenix were second-best against Western Sydney and they will need to try and rediscover their ability to play attractive football and deliver a result. It will be tough to replicate football of the calibre that the Nix produced against Adelaide when faced with a Sky Blues side that is highly fancied to challenge the Victory for the A-League title this season.
Sydney FC are yet to hit the dazzling heights they are more than capable of reaching so far this season. After a disappointing defeat to the Melbourne Victory in a rematch of last season’s finale, Sydney fans were once again left disappointed as their side failed to stake a claim on this season’s title, surrendering momentum to its rivals.
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Following an energy sapping 0-0 draw against the Glory at nib Stadium in the 34-degree heat, Sydney will desperately want to get a victory at Allianz Stadium to keep the pace with their title rivals and to keep their fans happy. To remain a factor in the title race means that Sydney must add more wins at home, as their solitary win against the Wanderers in round three is their only victory at home in four games.
Sydney’s defence has been solid this season, proving incredibly difficult for opponents to break down (with the exception of the Victory match). However, the side has lacked creativity in the final third to find the back of the net, and Sydney need a spark going forward in order to ensure the Nix continue its poor record of conceding first in virtually every game the club has played so far this A-League season. The Sky Blues will require the likes of Shane Smeltz and Alex Brosque to step up for this match after failing to trouble the makeshift Glory defence last time out, albeit in tough conditions.
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