Saturday football preview: Adelaide United v Sydney FC

The race for second place heads towards the final straight on Saturday night as Sydney FC aim to tighten their grip on a Finals Series bye against an Adelaide United side seeking to overhaul the Champions.

Steve Corica’s Sky Blues are in second spot, three points clear of the fourth-placed Reds, and a win at Coopers Stadium on Saturday will put the defending Champions out of reach of the South Australian outfit.

However, Adelaide have their own designs on booking their spot in the final four. Three points against the Harbour City club would bring the Reds level on points with the Sky Blues, with only goal difference separating the sides heading into the final Matchweek 24.

A Sydney FC loss would also open the door for the Central Coast Mariners to leapfrog their New South Wales rivals into second place in Tuesday’s F3 Derby against the Newcastle Jets, leaving the road towards the 2021 A-League Championship wide open heading into the closing stages of the season.

Adelaide are coming off a 1-0 triumph against Melbourne Victory last week, with Craig Goodwin’s seventh goal of the season proving enough to keep the Reds deep in the finals hunt, but the South Australians are still looking over their shoulders as they sit four points clear of the seventh-placed Wellington Phoenix. Sydney FC claimed their own 1-0 win over bitter local rivals, the Western Sydney Wanderers, in the Sydney Derby last week with Bobo’s 10th goal in 19 games keeping the Sky Blues in pole position for the Finals Series bye – but the outlook could look completely different come the full-time whistle in Hindmarsh.

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*The Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets match originally scheduled for Saturday 29 March has been postponed following the recent COVID-19 outbreak and seven-day lockdown in Melbourne.

Match details

Adelaide United v Sydney FC
Saturday, May 29 2021
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Kick-off: 7.10pm AEST
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports

Ins and Outs

Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.George TIMOTHEOU, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 6.Louis D’ARRIGO, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Stefan MAUK (c), 11.Craig GOODWIN, 18.Joe CALETTI, 19.Yaya DUKULY, 21.Javi LÓPEZ, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 27.Josh CAVALLO, 31.BERNARDO, 33.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk), 35.Al Hassan TOURE, 37.Jonny YULL

**2-4 to be omitted**

Ins: 3.George TIMOTHEOU (promoted), 31.BERNARDO (promoted), 35.Al Hassan TOURE (promoted), 37.Jonny YULL (promoted)

Outs: 28.JUANDE (hamstring), 29.Kusini YENGI (hamstring)

Unavailable: 9.Tomi JURIC (calf), 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (knee), 46.Joe GAUCI (quadricep)

Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2. Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 6.Ryan McGOWAN, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 18.Luke IVANOVIC, 21.Harry VAN der SAAG, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 25. Callum TALBOT, 26.Luke BRATTAN, 30. Adam PAVLESIC (gk), 32.Patrick YAZBEK, 33.Pat WOOD, 99.Adam LE FONDRE

**2-4 to be omitted**

Ins: 2. Patrick FLOTTMANN (promoted), 25. Callum TALBOT (promoted), 32.Patrick YAZBEK (promoted)

Outs: 5.Alex BAUMJOHANN (hamstring)

Unavailable: 7. Michael ZULLO (calf), 12. Trent BUHAGIAR (groin), 19. Chris ZUVELA (knee), 27. Jordi SWIBEL (hamstring), 28. Calem NIEUWENHOF (back)