Perth Glory travel east on Saturday evening to face a Sydney FC side who have failed to register a win in their last three A-League outings.
The Sky Blues come into this Round 19 clash off the back of a 2-2 draw with a resurgent Reds side from South Australia. Four first-half goals saw the side’s go in to the half-time break level and that statistic would not be changed in the latter stages.
Meanwhile, Kenny Lowe’s men gained a valuable three points on the road in a win against the Wellington Phoenix. Chris Harold’s header was enough for the Western Australian side, who pulled themselves to within five points of finals contention.
Key Battle – Mickael Tavares vs. Nebojsa Marinkovic
A midfield battle that oozes class and international pedigree as Serbian creative midfielder Nebojsa Marinkovic locks horns with the steely Senegalese screener Mickael Tavares.
After a slow start to the season, Tavares has cemented as the deepest of Sydney’s midfield players ahead of youngsters such as Brandon O’Neill. His defensive pedigree will be tested on Saturday night, however.
Marinkovic registered yet another assist agains the Phoenix, with Kenny Lowe profiting from his lethal set piece specialities once again. The attacking-midfielder has created 19 chances for his teammates this season and will only grow with the re-inclusion of striker Andy Keogh.
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For the first time this season, Graham Arnold has a full complement to select from with club captain Alex Brosque returning from a lengthy stint on the sidelines. David Carney, returning home from Newcastle came off the bench against Adelaide but we could see him play a more pertinent role in this encounter.
As for the Glory, Lowe will likely set them up in their counter-attacking 4-1-2-1-2 that served them so well in New Zealand last week. Expect Keogh and Harold to lead the line with Marinkovic providing the creative flair. Richard Garcia and Aryn Williams return from injury but are both once likely to be eased into the flow of things from the bench.
Previous Meeting
In their previous encounter, the two sides shared the spoils in a largely uneventful encounter at nib Stadium. In stifling heat, the best of the chances came to Matt Simon whose back post header failed to trouble Ante Covic.
Head-to-head
Historically, Sydney have had the better of their cross-country rivals, registering 15 wins in their 31 games played. The Glory have won just seven times, meaning there has been nine draws.
Prediction
Sydney FC continue to pass up opportunity after opportunity to break into the top four, but with the two Melbournian sides directly above them doing battle, a genuine opportunity presents itself to at least jump into fourth position. Graham Arnold’s big game nous might just get them over the line in this one, despite the poor form.
Sydney FC 2 Perth Glory 1
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