Sydney FC will welcome back central defender Stephan Keller and attacking midfielder David Williams from injury for Tuesday night’s crucial 2011 AFC Champions League clash with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Suwon World Cup Stadium (8:30pm kick-off).
Sydney FC will welcome back central defender Stephan Keller and attacking midfielder David Williams from injury for Tuesday night-s crucial 2011 AFC Champions League clash with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Suwon World Cup Stadium (8:30pm kick-off).
The duo missed the Sky Blues 3-2 win over Shanghai last week but return to bolster a team riding high on that confidence building road win which puts them just one point behind first place in Group H.
Their return softens the blow of losing youngster Dimitri Petratos through a knee injury with the 18-year-old expected to miss the rest of the AFC Champions League campaign.
Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka said his team took a lot of confidence from the win over Shanghai and that he wants more of the same from his men against their Korean opponent.
“We know they have a strong side right across the pitch. They have many excellent individual players of course but we have more focused on how they work as a team,” Lavicka said.
“They have good pace and movement. We have studied them and know them.
“We are very happy Stephan and David are back for us. They provide us with many options which is always good. I am hoping for a similar performance here in Korea. We feel good in this moment.”
The Sky Blues travelled to Suwon on Sunday with an 11-hour flight from Sydney to Seoul before training at the 2002 World Cup venue on Monday night.
The two sides played out a physical 0-0 draw at the Sydney Football Stadium – a game where Sydney FC captain Terry McFlynn was sent off after 30 minutes.
McFlynn returned to lead his side to victory last week and said he expects a similarly physical clash this time around.
“Sometimes the game is so important to both teams that the physical side is part of it,” McFlynn said.
“We expect them to be the same and we will be too. We held some very specific training sessions back home in Sydney before we left so we have prepared well.
“We have settled well today and the mood in the camp is very positive. That is a good sign.”
Kick-off is at 7:30pm local time – 8:30pm Sydney time.
