Analysis: Do Sydney FC have ANY weaknesses?

They have scored more goals and conceded fewer than any other team and have opened a 17-point chasm between themselves and the rest.

A win against Newcastle on Saturday night will see them break Brisbane Roar’s regular season points record.

So, are there any chinks in their sky blue armour?

We crunched the Opta data to find out. Sydney FC fans; look away now!

PASSING ACCURACY?

It seems incredible, but Sydney FC’s passing accuracy is the lowest in the 2016/17 Hyundai A-League.

Their accuracy across 26 games this season is 75.2%, which is lower than all nine of the other clubs.

Melbourne City are best, passing at an accuracy of 81.9%.

GOAL-SCORING WINDOW

It’s no good trying to score against Sydney FC in the first 15 minutes of either half.

They haven’t conceded in minutes 0-15 or minutes 45-60 all season.

In fact, second-half goals have also been at a premium, with just four conceded.

So, the time to hit the Sky Blues is between minutes 16 and 45, where eight of their 12 goals (66%) have been let in.

FOUL CONCESSION

Sydney FC players catch the eye of the referee more often than most.

They’ve conceded 425 fouls this season, the second highest tally in the Hyundai A-League.

Only Melbourne City have conceded more (435).

RELIANCE ON KEY PLAYERS?

Saturday’s clash with Wellington Phoenix was the first game Milos Ninkovic has missed all season.

Josh Brilliante and Brandon O’Neill were also absent.

Without that trio, Sydney lacked their usual cutting edge (as you’d expect given their quality).

Their passing accuracy dropped even further to 69.7% and was just 65.1% in the opposition half.

And the Sky Blues’ overall possession was only 43.5%, compared to a season average of 49.0%.

So, perhaps they’re not perfect after all!