The roles of these two sides have reversed in the space of 12 months as Perth Glory aim to claw back some ground on runaway Hyundai A-League leaders Sydney FC.
After 18 matches of the 2018/19 season, Tony Popovic’s Glory were the side setting the standards while running up a seven-point advantage at the top of the competition ladder.
Steve Corica’s third-placed Sydney were doing their best to play catch-up having fallen off the pace earlier in the campaign, but we all know how that story ended – with the Sky Blues toppling the Western Australians on their own soil in the Grand Final.
The reigning Premiers still have not extracted any revenge from that pain-staking night at Optus Stadium and Sydney dug the knife in deeper with a 3-1 triumph at HBF Park in Round 7.
Now back in fourth place following a 3-2 loss against Melbourne City last week, Glory need a spark to build some momentum as they head towards the Finals Series seeking to avenge last year’s heartache.
A statement win over Sydney would be a step in the right direction, although another crushing loss would leave doubts over their Championship aspirations. Similarly, three points for the 10-point leaders would keep them looking indestructible heading towards the business end of the season.
BEST XI: Hyundai A-League Team of the Week – Round 22
HOW TO WATCH: Every Hyundai A-League match in Round 23
Saturday, 14 March 2020
Kick off: 5.00pm AEDT
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505, ABC TV
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports, ABC iView
Ways to watch
ABC TV
Download the MyFootball Live App now
Sign up for Kayo Sports
Get Foxtel
How to follow the action
Match centre: Live updates, videos and statistics
Follow @ALeague on Twitter and join the conversation using #SYDvPER #ALeague
Team news
To be confirmed on Thursday.
Did you know?
- Sydney FC have won 12 of their last 13 Hyundai A-League matches against Perth Glory (L1), they have scored an average of 2.8 goals per game in that span.
- Glory will be out to avoid back-to-back defeats away from home in the Hyundai A-League for the first time since losing five on the bounce from December 2017 to February 2018 after a 2-1 loss to Newcastle Jets in their last away game.
- The Sky Blues have scored the opening goal of the game on 13 occasions this Hyundai A-League season – the most of any team – and have gone on to pick up 12 wins and one draw from those fixtures.
- Sydney FC are the only Hyundai A-League team against whom Glory skipper Diego Castro has played more than once and is yet to score a goal (13 games). In fact, he’s neither scored a goal nor made an assist against the Sky Blues in the competition and created just 1.2 scoring chances per game against them.