Sydney FC will look to go five games unbeaten and cement their position in the Isuzu UTE A-League’s top six when they face Adelaide United at Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening (6pm).
In the past two encounters between these two sides, there have been 13 goals, with the Sky Blues netting eight of them. Sydney FC beat Adelaide 5-1 in November but narrowly lost to the Reds in Unite Round 4-3 so anything could happen this time around.
Since that close encounter with United, the Sky Blues have remained unbeaten and have scored ten goals, propelling them into the top six. They currently share a tie for the second-highest number of goals scored in the A-League which is a great achievement considering they were kept scoreless for the first three rounds of the season.
In Sydney FC’s last match against Central Coast, the Sky Blues were electric, scoring three goals in 20 minutes, thanks to an Anthony Caceres showcase.
The rest of the match saw Talay’s men play out a back and forth tussle, where they held off the Mariners’ attack in a solid defensive effort to claim the three points.
For Adelaide, their last win came against the Sky Blues, and since then, they have conceded eight goals and scored three, of which six came against Perth Glory last week in a 3-3 draw.
The Reds rushed out a 2-0 lead in the opening 16 minutes of play. But, they could not hold onto it as slick finishes from Adam Taggart, David Williams and Josh Rawlins cut the deficit. But a late header by Panagiotis Kikianis salvaged the Reds a point.
In their Unite Round clash one month ago, the Sky Blues’ momentum stifled after Talay explained that they were “naive in defending”, which saw Sydney FC concede four times, thanks to a Hiroshi Ibusuki hat trick.
Although the Sky Blues dominated possession in the second half, they couldn’t score enough goals. However, Joe Lolley’s late double brought the deficit to one.
One’s to Watch:
Hiroshi Ibusuki: Hiroshi Ibusuki exposed the Sydney FC defence last outing, gaining Player of the Match after his flurry of goals. Last week against Perth, he continued his dominance in the league, adding another goal and winning a penalty.
Ibusuki also has more goals than Nestory Irankunda and Zach Clough. However, the forward relies on assists from his midfielders to generate those lethal chances, making only ten passes per game but having 2.5 shots on average.
Jake Girdwood-Reich: Jake Girdwood-Reich has continued to build momentum as he settles into his role as a central defender for Sydney FC.
Last week, he continued his string of dominant defensive displays, earning a 7.2/10 rating against the Mariners.
Girdwood-Reich has been starting consistently for the Sky Blues, and he has began to impact the contest more, completing 87{98698ff7ed92b99d4e0cecdfdc9e4dccf4922e0a04ff9db373daf4aa83b73fe2} of passes on average and recovering the ball 4.9 times per game. Having also made 58.9 touches per game, the defender has become critical in stopping attacks and keeping the Sky Blues’ defensive unit solid.
Head-To-Head- 2023/2024
| 7-2-7 | SYD– RECORD – ADE | 5-4-7 |
| 26-13-23 | H2H | 23-13-26 |
| 4-3-3 | H2H IN SYDNEY IN LAST 10 GAMES | 3-3-4 |
| 55.4{98698ff7ed92b99d4e0cecdfdc9e4dccf4922e0a04ff9db373daf4aa83b73fe2} | POSSESSION PG | 52.5{98698ff7ed92b99d4e0cecdfdc9e4dccf4922e0a04ff9db373daf4aa83b73fe2} |
| 1.9 | GOALS SCORED PG | 1.9 |
| 1.8 | GOALS CONCEDED PG | 1.9 |
| 19.4 | SHOTS PG | 18.2 |
| 6.8 | SHOTS ON TARGET PG | 6.2 |
| 1 | CLEAN SHEETS | 2 |
| 3.1 | SAVES PG | 4.3 |
| 399 | PASSES PG | 388 |
| 1.7 | YELLOW CARDS PG | 1.6 |
| 2 | RED CARDS | 2 |
How Sydney can win:
Statistics alone show Sydney FC and Adelaide United are almost similar. Still, the Sky Blues remain in sixth whilst Adelaide sits ninth, four points underneath them.
Last week against the Glory, Adelaide scored two goals in 16 minutes whilst Sydney FC scored three goals in 20 minutes, so expect this match to start quickly as both sides will want to possess the ball and press high.
Sydney FC does have 226 passes compared to the 181 the Reds have in the attacking on average. If the Sky Blues can continue that, they will most likely pressure the compact Adelaide defence and draw them out, which Perth and Central Coast were clinical in doing in the last two weeks.
Against the Mariners, the Reds struggled under a dominance of possession, especially in the attacking half, which proved crucial to their 4-0 drubbing down in Adelaide.
United have also conceded goals from sheer power, such as Josh Rawlins’s goal last week, and Mikael Torres’ double, which came from moments of brilliance on the edge of the box.
Sydney FC will also have to shut down Ibusuki and will come face-to-face with Zach Clough and Irankunda, all of whom have the potential to find ways around the Sydney defence and send crosses and shots in.
How United can win:
United must replicate a similar attacking performance against Sydney FC to earn all three points.
Ibusuki is critical in this process, as in the last game, he exposed the centre of the Sky Blues defence, which proved crucial to the outcome of the match.
Last matchday, the Reds scored their three goals from set pieces, two corners and one penalty.
The Red’s defence has also suffered massive blows over the past weeks, with number 1, Joe Gauci, leaving for Premier League side Aston Villa and Alexsander Popovic leaving for Korean side Gwangju.
The January window saw Adelaide lose vital defensive players, which their previous three outings have exposed.
What They Said: Jordan Courtney-Perkins
“Adelaide are a dangerous team and are very good going forward, as we found out last time with Ibusuki, Halloran and Irankunda all posing a big threat, so we will need to be on our game this weekend.
“However, we are in a good run of form with 17 points from the last 24, and we are full of confidence, so we know we have the quality to win the game.
“With 13 goals in the past two fixtures between our two teams this season, Saturday’s game promises to be very entertaining.”
Match Details:
Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 17
Saturday 17th February, 2024
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 6:00PM
Gates Open: 5:00PM
Broadcast Live: Paramount +
Tickets: Click Here
Matchday Partner: Macquarie University