Preview: Suwon Bluewings v Sydney FC

Suwon may currently lead the group, but their domestic form has been less than impressive of late and they lost the past two K-League games against Gyoengyam and Sangju.

Date: Tuesday May 3
Kick-off: 7:30pm AEST
Venue: Suwon World Cup Stadium
Television: Live and exclusive on Fox Sports

Head-to-head
Played 1. Draws: 1

The Road to the ACL
Sydney FC: 2010 A-League champions
Suwon Bluewings: 2010 Korean FA Cup winners

These two teams met at the SFS in the first match of the campaign, with the teams drawing 0-0 in a match where Sydney had Terry McFlynn sent off after just 33 minutes.

Past five matches:
Suwon Bluewings:
KL: Sangju Sangmu 1, Suwon Bluewings 0, Sangju Stadium
KL: Suwon Bluewings 1, Gyongnam, Suwon
ACL: Kashima Antlers 1, Suwon Bluewings 1, National Stadium
KL: Suwon Bluewings 2, Gangwon 0, Suwon
KL: Jeonbuk Motors 0, Suwon Bluewings 0, Joenju

Sydney FC:
ACL: Shanghai Shenhua 2, Sydney FC 3, Shanghai
ACL: Sydney FC 0, Kashima Antlers 3, SFS
ACL: Sydney FC 1, Shanghai Shenhua 1, SFS
ACL: Sydney FC 0, Suwon Bluewings 0, SFS
HAL: Melbourne Heart 2, Sydney FC 2, AAMI Park

Selection
Sydney FC are set to get back Stephan Kellar and David Williams for this match, but lose youngster Dmitri Petratos to an ankle injury, which is set to exclude him for the rest of the group stage. Andrew Durante could be also considered to come into the starting XI at left back with Kellar to replace him at the centre of defence.

Suwon will recall first-choice keeper Sung Ryong-Jung, who missed their previous ACL match, while Brazilian Bergson, who came on as a substitute both in the weekend’s match against Sangju Sangmu and the ACL match against Kashima, could be considered for a starting berth by coach Yoon Sung-Hyo.

Analysis
This group is delicately poised with two rounds to go with just one point separating the top three teams. Sydney go into the match knowing a defeat will just about end their hopes of progress, depending of course on the result in the other game between second-placed Kashima Antlers and fourth-placed Shanghai Shenhua in Japan earlier in the day.

The three points gathered from the recent trip to China has given the Sky Blues campaign some real momentum after they picked up just two points from their first three games, which were all at home. Galvanised by the road experience, Sydney look a more cohesive team with plenty of attacking options. Strikers Bruno Cazarine (two) and Mark Bridge both scored in the last match and Vitezslav Lavicka will again look to these guys to get the job done up front.

The return to fitness of Nicky Carle in midfield is an obvious bonus, and he provides the class among a hard working crew, while the availability of Kellar in the heart of defence will help shore things up after Sydney copped two goals in their last game, albeit one an own goal.

Suwon may currently lead the group, but their domestic form has been less than impressive of late and they lost the past two K-League games against Gyoengyam and Sangju. They do have a proud home record with just two losses in their last 11 matches at the World Cup Stadium.

They are a typically well-organised Korean outfit, which are hard to break down, as Sydney found out in the first match, but of the Sky Blues stick to their plans and don’t get anyone sent off, they are a good chance of getting all three points.

SQUADS

Sydney FC
Liam Reddy, Sebastian Ryall, Stephan Keller, Hirofumi Moriyasu, Brendan Gan, Stuart Musialik, Bruno Cazarine, Nicky Carle, David Williams, Shannon Cole, Terry McFlynn, Kofi Danning, Mark Bridge, Ivan Necevski, Scott Jamieson, Matthew Jurman, Dimitri Petratos, Joel Chianese, Jared Lum, Blake Powell, Nathan Sherlock, Rhyan Grant, Dylan Mitchell, Luke Austin, Andrew Durante.

Suwon Bluewings
Jung Sung Ryong, Kim Dae Hwan, Kwon Tae Ahn, Nertljak Mato, Yang Sang Min, Oh Beom Seok, Woo Seung Jae, Hwang Jae Won, Choi Sung Hwan, Kwak Hee Ju, Kim Seung Min, Min Sang Ji, Heo Cheng San, Lee Yong Rae, Lee Sang Ho, Oh Jang Eun, Lee Kyung Hwan, Hong Soon Hak, Cho Ji Hun, Baek Ji Hoon, Yang Joon, Im Kyung Hyun, Wando, Choi Sung Kuk, Bergson, Lee Hyun Jin, Park Jong Jin, Yeom Gi Hoon, Ha Tae Goon.