Western Sydney and Sydney FC will renew hostilities in an elimination final that marks the most high-stakes Sydney derby in A-League Men history.
The fourth-placed Wanderers’ return to the finals after a six-year absence couldn’t be better scripted for the league, with Saturday’s spiteful local derby, the first in a final, headlining the opening week.
Sydney boss Steve Corica and Wanderers counterpart Marko Rudan have had multiple wars of words across the season, in which the Sky Blues have won one derby to Western Sydney’s two.
Asked if he and Rudan had resolved their differences, Corica said: “We haven’t really. I haven’t really spoken to him.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him next Saturday.”
Corica was adamant his charges, who finished fifth and are unbeaten in five matches, were hitting form at the right time and could head into the finals high on confidence, despite a 4-0 defeat in their last derby.
“I’ve never wavered at all … I’ve always had belief in these boys and so far they’re doing well and there’s opportunity now to move forward,” he said.
“It’s going to be a massive game for us next week. We know what we’re up against. And there’s a reminder of the last game as well what they did to us.
“So we have to respond to that and make sure we’re ready.”
Active supporter group The Cove distributed leaflets ahead of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle, announcing they planned not to attend the game as part of a finals boycott protesting the decision to sell the grand final to Sydney.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Corica said.
“But that’s obviously disappointing if they are doing that. It’s a massive game for the club and you want your fans there to support the team, because that’s what they should be doing in good times and bad.
“We’ll see what happens next week but obviously we want them to be there, supporting our boys.
“They’ve worked hard to get into this position to play against Wanderers and we want a massive crowd there to play in front of. We hope they come.”
Meanwhile, sixth-placed Wellington, who secured their finals spot on the last day with a 1-0 win over Macarthur, backed themselves to beat third-placed Adelaide, who are winless in four, at Coopers Stadium on Friday.
“They’re a team that plays very open football and we saw that in their last game against Central Coast,” said coach Ufuk Talay, referring to Adelaide’s 4-1 loss to the Mariners.
“So there are strengths and weaknesses that we need to exploit and stop at the same time.”
Leaders Melbourne City and second-placed Central Coast have the weekend off and will await the winners of the elimination finals.
