It’s going to be a party atmosphere as Sydney FC take on Western United FC on Saturday, with the hosts to finally get their hands on the Premiers’ Plate.
The Sky Blues will be presented the Premiership trophy in front of their fans after full-time at Leichhardt Oval, and they’ll hope to celebrate it with a victory in their last match before the finals.
Steve Corica’s troops are in uncharted waters right now, without a win in any of their last four matches.
In contrast, United have all-but clinched a finals berth in their maiden Hyundai A-League campaign after Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph over Perth Glory.
With two games to play, United are in sixth spot, on level points with Adelaide United and with a far superior goal difference (15 goals better than the Reds).
It would take two heavy defeats from this clash and their final match against Melbourne City to deny Mark Rudan’s men a spot in the Finals Series, which is highly unlikely.
The Sky Blues ran out 2-0 winners when the sides met earlier in the campaign, with Adam Le Fondre scoring a first-half double.
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Saturday, August 15 2020
Kick-off: 5.00pm AEST
Venue: Leichhardt Oval
Broadcast: ABC TV, FOX Sports 507
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
Ways to watch
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How to follow the action
Match centre: Live updates, videos and statistics
Follow @ALeague on Twitter and join the conversation using #SYDvWUN #ALeague
Team news
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2.Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 5.Alex BAUMJOHANN, 6.Ryan McGOWAN, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.Adam LE FONDRE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 18.Luke IVANOVIC, 19.Chris ZUVELA, 20.Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 21.Harry VAN DER SAAG, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 26.Luke BRATTAN. **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Michael ZULLO (promoted), 23.Rhyan GRANT (return from injury)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Western United FC squad: 1.Filip KURTO (gk), 2.Aaron CALVER, 4.Andrew DURANTE, 5.Dylan PIERIAS, 6.Tomoki IMAI, 7.Valentino YUEL, 9.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 10.Steven LUSTICA, 11.Connor PAIN, 14.Max BURGESS, 15.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 17.Joshua CAVALLO, 18.Besart BERISHA, 21.Sebastian PASQUALI, 22.Tomislav USKOK, 23.Alessandro DIAMANTI (c), 25.Luke DUZEL, 26.Patrick ANTELMI, 27.Jerry SKOTADIS, 30.Ryan SCOTT (gk) **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Valentino YUEL (promoted), 9.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS (promoted), 25.Luke DUZEL (promoted)
Outs: 19.Josh RISDON (rested)
Unavailable: 3.Brendan HAMILL (knee – season), 13.Ivan VUJICA (groin – season), 20.James DELIANOV (GK) (knee – season)
Did you know?
- Sydney FC have won three of their last 4 games at Leichhardt Oval.
- Western United FC have won five of their last six Hyundai A-League games.
- The Sky Blues have scored seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of games and 12 goals in the 75th-minute or later. No team has scored more in either period.
