Sydney FC Men’s Head Coach Ufuk Talay has dismissed the recent poor form of Saturday’s opponents stating: “They’ve still got the Socceroos front line!”
Melbourne City arrive at Allianz Stadium (5.30pm kick off) boasting an array of attacking talent featuring Socceroos World Cup stars Jamie MacLaren, Mathew Leckie, Andrew Nabbout and Marco Tilio.
City are just one win from their last six games which has included four defeats, however the Sky Blues boss is determined not to let those stats blindside his squad.
“They are still a very good side, they’ve still got the Socceroos front line in their squad and people tend to forget that,” he said.
“They’ve got some experienced and quality players, but for us we’ll analyze them and find where we need to exploit them.”
In contrast Talay’s men are just one defeat in their last nine and unbeaten in five matches. They also average over three goals a game in their last five at Allianz Stadium.
It’s an attacking approach the former Socceroos assistant coach wants to continue against the reigning Premiers on Saturday afternoon.
“Our Members and fans want to be entertained, and to be scoring that many goals is great for the entertainment value,” he continued.
“We are creating a new identity and that’s part of our identity to win games and score as many goals as we possibly can.
“At the same time [we want] to entertain our fans who come week in week out to support us.
“I think the boys thoroughly enjoy playing the way that we play, playing on the front foot and defending forward.
“At times we are going to give away opportunities because we know it’s a high risk game as well but I think our performance is as important as the result, because we want to be known as a club that plays a certain way and gets results with it.”
Talay is set to play with an unchanged line up following their sixth win in nine games and no further injuries or suspensions.
Socceroos full back Joel King also returns to the squad this weekend following a foot injury.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Melbourne City
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 18
Saturday 24th March 2024
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 5:30pm AEDT
Gates Open: 4:30pm AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
Matchday Partner: Under Armour
