This Sunday, 184 days after their last match at Allianz Stadium, Sydney FC will return home when they face Macarthur FC.
Three games on the road to open the season has the Sky Blues sitting near the top with two wins to their name and heading into this clash with Macarthur, Anthony Caceres is ready to make that tally three.
“It is business as usual. The expectation is to always perform and we are at home so it’s a great chance to give our fans a good show.
“My Socceroos call up comes as a consequence of performances here at Sydney and I aim to change nothing in that respect,” Caceres said.
“It’s full on 100% commitment as always and we will look to get the three points.”
The midfielder will be coming up against Luke Brattan who he pulled on the same shirt 151 times alongside him during their time at Sydney FC and Melbourne City together.
Only Andrew Redmayne and Rhyan Grant have shared the pitch more with Caceres and he admits that seeing the former Sky Blue captain in new colours will feel weird.
“He is one of my top mates and we still speak often.
“He’s a player that I still have huge respect and admiration for but tomorrow he is on the other side,” he added.
“It’s going to be strange seeing him in another shirt but once you’re on the pitch it’s game time and then afterwards we can be mates.”
Ufuk Talay could welcome Joe Lolley back to the fold for this clash with the exciting winger named in the extended squad for Sunday’s clash however the Head Coach revealed that he still has to pass a few fitness tests before doing so.
“Douglas [Costa] is highly unlikely for Sunday but Joe needs to tick a few more boxes at training today and if he gets through that he gives us a chance to utilise him for whatever reason we need.
“The boys had a good recovery day [following the clash with Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Thursday night] and they seem to be in good spirits which is very important,” Talay said.
“We are playing in front of our home fans. It’s been a while since we’ve been back at Allianz to play a game so I think it’s going to be quite an enjoyable game in front of our own supporters.”
Following this clash, the final international break of the calendar year is scheduled and a number of Talay’s chargers will be jetting off with Hayden Matthews, Anthony Caceres & Rhyan Grant named in the Socceroos squad, while Adrian Segecic was named in the Australian U23’s.
With that in mind, he wants to ensure that they finish this run of games with three points.
“It’s so important to get those three points otherwise the game that you’re waiting for becomes too far away so we definitely want to finish this round with three points.
“Macarthur are a great team with some very experienced players in their squad.
“They haven’t had the results they would have liked in the last two games so I think it is going to be a very challenging game for us, especially with a short turnaround for our players.
“We’re playing at home. We’re playing in front of our supporters and we want to make them happy when they leave the stadium,” he concluded.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Macarthur FC
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 4
Sunday 10th November 2024
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 6:00pm AEDT
Gates Open: 5:00pm AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount+
Tickets: Click Here
