After a commanding derby win over bitter rivals Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC have been backed as Isuzu UTE A-League favourites despite a mixed bag of results through the first five rounds of the 2024-25 season.
The Sky Blues notched their third win of the season in Unite Round, beating bitter rivals Wanderers 4-2 at Allianz Stadium.
But each win to date has been followed by a loss in Sydney’s three-win, two-defeat beginning to the campaign.
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On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Sydney Morning Herald sports reporter Vince Rugari and retired Socceroo Tommy Oar labelled Talay’s Sky Blues as title favourites despite sitting middle of the pack in sixth after five rounds.
“Another big win for Sydney FC – no real surprises there, to be honest,” Vugari said on Total A-Leagues.
“From the outset of the season, Tommy, I don’t know what you think but I looked at their squad, at the way they approached the first AFC Champions League games they played in pre-season and I thought: ‘This competition is theirs to lose’. And the evidence for that keeps mounting, don’t you think?”
“I agree completely,” Oar replied.
“We thought after the first Derby in Round 1, that Sydney FC were just going to go from strength to strength. But they have had their difficulties in managing the Asian competition as well, and the loads that come with that, and obviously a few injuries.
“But I think this was the win that really put their season back on track. It was a huge statement win. And they were probably unlucky not to win it by more, actually.”
Sydney FC have juggled the opening rounds of the Isuzu UTE A-League season with their AFC Champions League Two group stage, which continues both this week and next with Thursday-night fixtures against Eastern SC and Kaya FC Iloilo.
“When you look at the depth of their squad and the players that they’ve got, I think they can continue to compete in both of these competitions,” Rugari said.
“And I look especially at their bench on the weekend in the derby and the outfielders there, (Corey) Coleman, Jaden Kucharski, Joel King and Thiago Quintal. I reckon three of those probably walk into most starting XIs. And Thiago Quintal, who we’ve not seen much of, looks to be the kind of player who a lot of teams would love to have as their first option off the bench.”
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“There’s luxury for choice,” Oar added. “And if you look at the likes of (Anas) Ouahim obviously, on the bench in the Derby, to have a player of his calibre not in the starting lineup, I think a lot of other A-League teams would be very jealous of that.
“If we look at the Mariners last year and what they were able to achieve in the A-League and in the Asian competition, Sydney FC, objectively, has a much stronger squad this season than what the Mariners did last year.
“I think there’s no reason that they can’t really be a force to be reckoned with in both competitions. The injuries to (Joe) Lolly and (Douglas) Costa early in the season, I think that Uffy (Talay) would have learned a lot about managing these older players in both competitions. And I think we might see a lot of the younger players get more minutes, especially in the Asian competitions.”
GAME-BY-GAME PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 6 of the Isuzu UTE A-League
Sydney FC will sit out the Isuzu UTE A-League action this weekend along with Central Coast Mariners, with both teams given time to focus on their AFC Champions League duties. Wellington Phoenix also have the bye with just five fixtures on the Round 6 agenda.
The Phoenix sit second on the table with 10 points, level with Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United in third and fourth respectively. But leading the way are Auckland FC with four wins from four games and 12 points on the board.
Hypothetically, the Sky Blues could be six points behind Auckland by the end of this weekend should the Black Knights defeat Newcastle Jets at Go Media Stadium, having played the same amount of games (five) as Ufuk Talay’s side.
No new club had ever won four consecutive games in their debut Isuzu UTE A-League history prior to Auckland’s arrival this season. Better yet for Steve Corica’s side, they’ve done so without conceding a single goal – another league record for a new club.
If Auckland keep another clean sheet against the Jets, then another piece of history will be theirs: 17 years ago, Central Coast Mariners set an all-time record of five-straight clean sheets through their first five games of season 2007-08.
But of all the things going right for the Black Knights through the first five rounds of the season, one particular aspect of their incredible introduction to the Isuzu UTE A-League has impressed both Rugari and Oar: their transfer business.
“What I like about their recruitment, and it’s probably a consequence of them being a Kiwi team and not an Aussie team is: only three of their players from the starting 11 on the weekend had played in the A-League before this season, which is good,” Rugari said.
“Not only is it a good team, it’s a fresh team, it’s a fun team for us to learn about, and look at these players for the first time… it’s refreshing to see them, cast the net wider and bring in some players that we haven’t seen before.
“I think (Max) Verstraete for them in midfield has been one of the best signings of the season so far. In terms of leadership and physical presence in the middle of the pitch, he’s been huge for them.”
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