It’s been a while since Sydney FC and Canberra United faced off at McKellar Park and they will meet there this weekend for the first time since 2020 as the Sky Blues look to continue their winning form.
NOTE: The Kick off time has been moved from 3pm AEDT to 5pm AEDT to combat the high temperatures expected in Canberra on Saturday.
Ante Juric and Sydney FC are firing on all cylinders, winning eight of their last nine matches convincingly, with the only blip being a 2-0 defeat to Western United. Most recently, the Women celebrated a 6-3 win over rivals Melbourne Victory and backed that up with a statement 3-0 victory against Melbourne City. Both of these teams are tipped to be in and around the top of the table and to sweep them aside with the ease that they did, Sydney FC are a force to be reckoned with.
Coming into this clash, unfortunately for Juric, Mackenzie Hawkesby is suspended accumulating too many yellow cards and will miss the trip to the nation’s capital. On a brighter note after breaking her finger back in 2022, Jada Whyman is back into the side for the first time since a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Madison Haley is in brilliant form, netting in back to back matches along with Cortnee Vine and both of them have been terrorising defences all season. Vine appears to be at the peak of her powers, called up to the Matildas once again and making the right side of the pitch her own. Last week, a goal and an assist against City put her back into the team of the week along with Haley.
Canberra United come into this clash with mixed form. Inconsistency has been the story of their season, winning games, then losing some.
They won two games on the spin against Adelaide United and the Jets, scoring seven goals, before shipping ten goals in two games in back to back 5-0 losses over Wellington Phoenix and Western United. Last weekend, they bounced back with a 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets at No.2 Sportsground so coming into this we could see any style of Canberra United.
Michelle Heyman has been instrumental for the green and black, scoring six goals and in the midfield, Grace Maher has been pivotal. Despite sitting in the middle of the table, Canberra create a lot of chances and should have scored more than their 18 goals warrant.
In the recent history of this fixture it has been heavily in Sky Blue favour with Sydney FC winning four of the last five with the other being drawn. You have to go back to 2018 to find the last goal that Canberra United scored against Sydney FC which came in a 2-0 win during the 2018/19 season.
Overall, the Sky Blues have won half of all 22 fixtures, with Canberra United winning 8 and the other 3 matches being drawn.
Match Details
Canberra United v Sydney FC
Liberty A-League Round 14
Saturday 11th February 2023
McKellar Park, Canberra, ACT
Kick Off: 5:00pm AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount +, 10Play & DubZone through Facebook and YouTube
Tickets: Click Here
