Adelaide United travel to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium for a Semi Final showdown with Sydney FC on Saturday, June 19, intent on causing another Finals Series upset to progress to the A-League Grand Final.
The Reds met Brisbane Roar in the Elimination Finals without the injured Craig Goodwin and came away with a shock 2-1 victory thanks to a brace scored by star striker Tomi Juric to set up a Semi Final bout with the Sky Blues.
Sydney are well rested after a two-week break and will approach the Saturday-night fixture with confidence as Steve Corica looks to guide his team to a third-consecutive A-League Championship – a feat never before achieved in A-League history.
The Sky Blues are missing key personnel of their own, as they were for the last game of the regular season, with Andrew Redmayne, Ryan McGowan and Rhyan Grant are all absent on Socceroos duty. Goalkeeper Thomas Heward-Belle, makeshift right-back Paulo Retre and central defender Ben Warland are the players likely to fill the gaps left by Sydney’s three Socceroo stars as they did in a 2-0 win over Brisbane in Matchweek 24.
These two teams met three times in the regular season, and results were evenly split between the Reds and Sky Blues. Adelaide won the first contest 1-0, before a 2-2 draw unfolded in Matchweek 17. Sydney romped to a 4-1 win on the road in Matchweek 23, a result which will give Corica’s side plenty of encouragement heading into Saturday night.
Adelaide’s 1-0 win early in the 2020/21 season is the only Reds victory over Sydney in the past 15 meetings between the sides. The Sky Blues have won nine and drawn five of those encounters.
The Reds last made the Semi Finals in 2019/20, falling short against Perth Glory in a memorable penalty shootout which ended 5-4 in Perth’s favour after a 3-3 finish to additional extra time. If Carl Veart’s team manage to get over the line against the Sky Blues, Adelaide will return to the Grand Final for the first time since their winning effort in 2015/16.
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Match details
Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Saturday, June 19 2021
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, LIVE and FREE on Kayo Freebies!
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Ins and Outs
Sydney FC squad: 2. Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 5. Alex BAUMJOHANN, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 18.Luke IVANOVIC, 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 21.Harry VAN der SAAG, 24. Adrian SEGECIC, 25. Callum TALBOT, 26.Luke BRATTAN, 30. Adam PAVLESIC (gk), 33.Pat WOOD, 34. Aaron GURD, 99.Adam LE FONDRE.
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 24. Adrian SEGECIC (promoted), 34. Aaron GURD (promoted)
Outs: None
Unavailable: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk) (International Duty), 6.Ryan McGOWAN (International Duty), 7. Michael ZULLO (calf), 12. Trent BUHAGIAR (groin), 19. Chris ZUVELA (knee), 23.Rhyan GRANT (International Duty), 27. Jordi SWIBEL (hamstring), 28. Calem NIEUWENHOF (back)
Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.George TIMOTHEOU, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 6.Louis D’ARRIGO, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Stefan MAUK (c), 9.Tomi JURIC, 17.Mohamed TOURE, 18.Joe CALETTI, 19.Yaya DUKULY, 21.Javi LÓPEZ, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 27.Josh CAVALLO, 28.JUANDE, 33.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk), 35.Al Hassan TOURE
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 17.Mohamed TOURE (promoted), 19.Yaya DUKULY (promoted)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 11.Craig GOODWIN (ankle) 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (knee), 29.Kusini YENGI (hamstring) 46.Joe GAUCI (quadricep)
