They have been involved in some epic and massive clashes in the past but there is plenty riding on Saturday night’s Big Blue for both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.
Victory finally won a match under new boss Carlos Salvachua, beating Adelaide United 2-1 last weekend thanks to Andrew Nabbout’s stoppage-time goal.
The nature and importance of that win could be seen as a season-turning result for the Navy Blues, but only if they can add to it with another three points this weekend.
Victory remain six points adrift of the top six and with games starting to run out, can ill-afford that gap getting any bigger.
So it’s probably not a good thing for the hosts that Sydney FC come to town smarting from just their second loss of the Hyundai A-League season against Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend.
Steve Corica’s men still hold a healthy 10 point lead at the top of the ladder but he’ll be stressing to his side the importance of bouncing back immediately.
It all points to what should be a clash not to miss from Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Kick off: 7.30pm (AEDT)
Venue: Marvel Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports
Stream: MyFootball App, Kayo Sports
BEST XI: Hyundai A-League Team of the Week – Round 21
HOW TO WATCH: Every Hyundai A-League match in Round 22
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Team news
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Matt ACTON (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 4.James DONACHIE, 5.Tim HOOGLAND, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 11.Ola TOIVONEN (c), 15.Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 23. Marco ROJAS, 24.Anthony LESIOTIS, 25.Brandon LAUTON, 38. So NISHIKAWA, 43. Luis LAWRIE-LATTANZIO **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 1.Matt ACTON (return from injury), 8.Jakob POULSEN (promoted), 32. So NISHIKAWA (promoted), 33. Luis LAWRIE-LATTANZIO (promoted)
Outs: 21.Adama TRAORE (hamstring), 30.Matthew SUTTON (gk) (not selected)
Unavailable: 10.Robbie KRUSE (hamstring), 26.Jay BARNETT (leg)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2.Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 5.Alex BAUMJOHANN, 6.Ryan McGOWAN, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.Adam LE FONDRE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 20.Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 21.Harry VAN DER SAAG, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 24.Marco TILIO, 26.Luke BRATTAN, 27.Jordi SWIBEL, 28.Calem NIEUWENHOF **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 8.Paulo RETRE (return from suspension), 28.Calem NIEUWENHOF (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 7.Michael ZULLO (calf), 18.Luke IVANOVIC (quad), 19.Chris ZUVELA (knee)
Did you know?
- Sydney FC have won each of their last two Hyundai A-League matches against Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium, after never recording back-to-back wins across their 16 fixtures at the venue prior (W4, D5, L7).
- Victory have dropped 14 competition points from winning positions this Hyundai A-League campaign, more than any other team in the competition; no team has lost fewer points from winning positions than Sydney FC (2).
- Sky Blues star Alexander Baumjohann has provided four assists for Adam Le Fondre this Hyundai A-League season; only Diego Castro (5 assists for Bruno Fornaroli) has made more assists for a single player this campaign.
- Victory duo Andrew Nabbout (13) and Robbie Kruse (10) are two of just five players to have been caught offside 10 times or more this Hyundai A-league campaign. Indeed, no player has been found out more times than Nabbout in 2019/20.
Tipping
