This year’s A-League grand final sees first host second, with Melbourne Victory taking on Sydney FC at AAMI Park.
These sides have been widely touted as the best two in the league and they will fittingly battle it out for the championship.
Victory and Sydney vs the league
So just how good have the teams been?
Besides finishing first and second respectively on the ladder, they also finished in the top two for most games won – the Victory with 15, while Sydney was equal second in the league along with Adelaide United, Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory on 14.
They were one and two for fewest games lost, Sydney equal second with Perth Glory on five, Melbourne on four.
Victory and Sydney had the highest goals tallies in the league, with 59 and 56 respectively as well as the most clean sheets. The Victory cracked double figures with 10, while Sydney, along with the Glory and Melbourne City, had nine.
These teams have also been the most clinical in front of goal, with the two highest conversion rate percentages of shots on target to goals in the league – the Victory on 21.6% and Sydney on 18.1%.
Victory were top of the league for fewest goals conceded, 31, as well as having the highest games won percentage with 53.6%.
Sydney was second in the league for shots on target, with 155, two behind Melbourne City.
The Victory and Sydney have been utterly dominant, further reflecting the belief that the best two teams in the competition will be challenging for the title.
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Head-to-head
In a great sign for Sunday’s match, extra time and even penalties look likely with Victory and Sydney’s three meetings this season ending in stalemates. A tense but entertaining nil all draw was followed by consecutive 3-3 draws, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney.
Interestingly, only two men have scored against the Victory this season for the Sky Blues: Shane Smeltz and Marc Janko.
The Victory have had four different goalscorers against Sydney, with Gui Finkler, Nick Ansell, Kosta Barbarouses and Archie Thompson – who scored a hat-trick at Etihad Stadium – all finding the back of the net.
Despite scoring, and conceding, the same amount of goals in their three clashes this season, Sydney had more shots over the three matches compared with the Victory, both in total (40-36) and on target (17-15).
Historically, the Victory have the edge in these fixtures with 10 wins to Sydney’s eight. There have been 16 draws out of the 34 clashes.
In finals football, Victory also lead the count with two wins to Sydney’s one. However, the Sky Blues’ solitary win was the 2009-10 grand final, making it all the more valuable.
There has also been a draw – this happened when the finals series included a major semi-final consisting of home and away legs between first and second. The winner, on aggregate, was granted progression straight through to the grand final.
Squad make-ups
This fixture has the potential to be dominated by each sides’ big man up forward.
Sydney’s Janko has had a phenomenal first season in the A-League, highlighted by his golden boot award for 16 goals in the regular season.
Besart Berisha, while only having scored 13 goals in the regular season and once in the finals, has had quite the impact in other areas. The Albanian has had seven assists this season, as well as creating 34 chances.
When comparing these two strikers, Janko has had more shots on goal, with 83 to 63. However, Berisha has a 64% shot accuracy as opposed to Janko’s 43%.
The battle between the forwards will go a long way in deciding who wins on Sunday afternoon.
Down the opposite end of the park, there have been plenty of changes and switches in both sides’ back lines.
Only four defensive players, including goalkeepers, from both sides featured in all three Big Blues this season – Adrian Leijer, Vedran Janjetovic, Seb Ryall and Nathan Coe.
With Leijer now playing in China and Coe injured, it will be up to defender Matthieu Delpierre and goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas to keep the Sydney attack at bay, despite having never played against the Sky Blues this season.
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On the other hand, former Victory man Seb Ryall loves nothing more than to play against his old side. Although he is a defender, with only nine goals to his name in eight seasons, four of those have come against the Victory, and three of them in Melbourne.
Although statistics can provide plenty of interesting details and highlight patterns and good form, the only thing that matters in finals football is the performance on the day and the number of goals on the score sheet.
Supporters of both clubs and neutrals alike are in for a fantastic, nail-biting match on Sunday. Just as a grand final should be.
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