Match News and Current Form
Sydney FC have had a wonderfully busy pre-season ensuring they’ll come into the season with a ton of match fitness, playing a four-game Australia Cup campaign in addition to a high-profile friendly against Tottenham. Head coach Patrick Kisnorbo will be looking to continue the revival he sparked in a side that squandered a very strong early season start under predecessor Ufuk Talay. Kisnorbo took over the team ahead of Round 24 and steered them to the Grand Final with three wins from seven games (D3, L1), beginning with an away derby win against the Wanderers. The next task is to now fully endear himself to a home fanbase who have not seen a competitive win on home turf since February (D4, L3), including the club’s recent 2-0 Australia Cup semi-final loss to Melbourne Victory at Kogarah.
One club’s trash could be another club’s treasure if Ufuk Talay can start his stint in Western Sydney with the ultimate form of cold revenge here. He gleefully appeared in a viral marketing video leading into the match, changing a vase of blue flowers to red ones to highlight where his heart now sits during his third A-League managerial stint. Talay takes on a team that kept just five clean sheets and failed to score in more than one-third of their matches last season under Alen Stajcic and Gary van Egmond. He already appears to have rectified the latter problem, with the Wanderers piling on 16 goals in six pre-season games including four against Chelsea (L 6-4) and three away to defending champions Auckland (W 3-1).
Head-to-Head History
Sydney’s recent superiority to their fierce rivals has been reflected in the recent H2H history, with the Sky Blues winning six of the last eight meetings (D1, L1), including three of four at home (D1).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Sydney FC’s matches last season produced a league-low average of 2.23 total goals.
A league-low 35% of Sydney FC’s games last term saw both teams score.
The betting favourite won only 35% of Western Sydney’s matches last season.
Eight of Western Sydney’s last ten A-League games had over 2.5 total goals.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Sydney FC midfielder Tiago Quintal has enjoyed more A-League wins (three) against Wanderers than anyone else and he was a solid contributor last season with two goals and an assist in Sydney derbies. Miguel Di Pizio is on a seven-game winning streak when scoring for any club after an Australia Cup goal against Tigers FC, but he has never scored against nor defeated Sydney FC in four matches.
The Sky Blues are missing Jacob Farrell and Abel Walatee to injury, whilst Wanderers captain Brandon Borrello was in doubt but not yet ruled out as of Thursday.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Given Sydney have kept just one clean sheet in 11 derbies, we’re anticipating both teams will score.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
