Melbourne City vs Western Sydney Wanderers: match preview

The Westfield W-League’s invincible Premiers face a challenger emarking on their maiden Finals Series campaign when Melbourne City host Western Sydney Wanderers in a Semi Final showdown this weekend.

The contest at ABD Stadium on Sunday, March 15 (kick-off 1.30pm AEDT) will pit the unbeaten City against Dean Heffernan’s Wanderers outfit.

The Red and Black were the standout performers early on in the 2019/20 campaign winning five of their first six games in some style, but an inconsistent end to the season saw them slide to fourth on the Westfield W-League table.

City, meanwhile, drew their first game of the campaign then won their remaining 11 games, including a 4-0 win over the Wanderers in Round 13.

Rado Vidosic’s Premiership outfit come into the clash as overwhelming favourites, but the City boss will need to carefully manage six of his starting 11 who are currently on international duty with the Westfield Matildas as they look to complete their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification with a game away to Vietnam on Wednesday, March 11.

All may depend on how well City manage to prepare for their contest with the Wanderers with more than half the starting side away until midweek: with a short turnaround in preparation time Heffernan and the Wanderers will be gunning for an upset, with Golden Boot winner Kristen Hamilton leading the charge.

READ: How van Egmond helped Australia break down Vietnam for first leg advantage
READ: Mastrantonio’s message ahead of Wanderers’ historic first finals match