It’s go time in the Isuzu UTE A-League as the Final Series gets underway. Four teams will clash in two do-or-die Elimination Finals, with the winning pair earning a two-legged Semi-Final berth against either Central Coast Mariners or Wellington Phoenix! Aleagues.com.au takes a look at what to expect from both encounters…
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Sydney FC v Macarthur FC
Saturday, 7:45pm AEST – Allianz Stadium
Another season and another Elimination Final for Sydney FC. Albeit, the Sky Blues are a very different line-up heading into Saturday night’s clash.
Last season, Sydney defied the odds to make it through an Elimination Final against Western Sydney Wanderers and set up a Semi-Final with Melbourne City.
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This time around, the Sky Blues are favourites to make it through their Elimination Final under the leadership of Ufuk Talay, who along with assistant David Zdrilic, has transformed the team since arriving in November.
Not since 2020-21, when they finished runners-up, have the five-time champions featured in the Big Dance but the high-octane Sky Blues will fancy their chances of at least reaching the Semi-Finals.
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Macarthur, though, will fancy their chances at Allianz Stadium.
With Mile Sterjovski at the helm, the Bulls have gone from wooden spooners last season to a top-six side in 2023-24.
Macarthur also beat Sydney 1-0 last month and have won each of the past three meetings by an aggregate score of 6-0 without conceding a goal.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Sydney FC: W – L – W – L – D
- Macarthur FC: L – W – W – L – L
POSITION
- Sydney FC: 4th
- Macarthur FC: 5th
OPTA FACTS
- This will be the first time that Sydney FC and Macarthur FC have met in the finals of the A-League Men; though, their two previous encounters at Allianz Stadium both ended in a win for the Bulls with a cumulative score of 5-0 across those fixtures.
- Sydney FC have won only one of their last four finals games in the A-League Men (D1 L2) while Macarthur FC won one of their two post-season games in the 2020-21 campaign which was their only previous finals appearance.
- Sydney FC are unbeaten in their last seven A-League Men games at Allianz Stadium (W5 D2) including wins in each of their last three games there while Macarthur FC have lost two of their last three games away from Campbelltown Stadium including a 0-3 loss to the Wellington Phoenix in their last road fixture.
- Valere Germain (Macarthur FC) has scored 12 goals and made six assists in the 2023-24 A-League Men season; only once in the Bulls’ history has any player been directly involved in more goals in a single campaign (Matt Derbyshire – 14 goals, 5 assists in 2020-21).
- Sydney FC have led at half-time on 14 occasions in the 2023-24 A-League Men season – the most of any team – and gone on to win 10 of those fixtures (D3 L1) while Macarthur FC (W5 D2 L2) are the only team to have lost multiple games after leading at half-time on the day this season.
- Macarthur FC in 2023-24 have a shooting accuracy above 50% (51.2%) and a shot conversion rate above 10% (12.7%) – the first time in a season in their A-League Men history the Bulls have achieved this in both categories; they have outperformed their Expected Goals in four of their last five games against Sydney FC in the competition.
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Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City
Sunday, 5:00pm AEST – AAMI Park
Strap yourselves in, folks. This is going to be fun.
Sunday evening will see Melbourne Victory and rivals Melbourne City go head-to-head in an Isuzu UTE A-League finals game for the first time since 2015.
This will be the fourth Melbourne Derby of the season, with Victory having reigned supreme in the previous meeting 2-1 last month following back-to-back goalless draws.
Coming off a 4-3 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers, Victory are back in the finals having missed out last term. They reached the Semi-Finals in 2021-22 before falling to eventual champions Western United.
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As for three-time reigning premiers City, they secured a top-six berth by the skin of their teeth.
Western Sydney’s wild win over Victory had them temporarily ahead of City in the race for a finals spot last week. However, Aurelio Vidmar’s men managed to see off Western United in the final round.
It could also potentially be a farewell for Jamie Maclaren and Curtis Good, with the record-breaking pair to leave City at the end of the season.
FORM LINE (LAST FIVE GAMES)
- Melbourne Victory: L – D – L – W – W
- Melbourne City: W – W – W – L – L
POSITION
- Melbourne Victory: 3rd
- Melbourne City: 6th
OPTA FACTS
- Melbourne Victory will be looking to win back-to-back games against Melbourne City in the A-League Men for the first time since March 2018 after picking up a 2-1 win in their last clash (Round 23, 2023-24) and are unbeaten in their last three games against them (W1 D2).
- This will be the second meeting between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the A-League Men finals after the Victory won 3-0 in the 2014-15 Elimination Finals; though, overall, the Victory have lost two of their last three finals games (losing 3-10 on aggregate) and City have won only one of their last four (D1 L2).
- Melbourne City have won their last three games in a row in the A-League Men, conceding just one goal across that frame; the last time they won more consecutive games in the competition was a four-game streak from March to April in 2022 which was ended by a 3-0 loss to the Melbourne Victory.
- Melbourne Victory have trailed at half-time only three times this season, the fewest of any team in the competition, and have lost only one of those three games (D2), while Melbourne City have lost three of their five games when they’ve been behind at the break (W1 D1).
- Melbourne City have made more shots than they’ve faced in seven of their last nine A-League Men games after being outshot in four of their previous seven games in the competition; though, they’ve been outshot by more than 10 goals in each of their last two games against the Melbourne Victory and haven’t outshot them since 18 February 2023.
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