There’s only THREE games to go and the race for Finals football is going down to the wire!
That makes this Sunday’s clash with Perth at Allianz Stadium a must win match if Sydney FC are to stay in top six.
The table is so congested that Wellington in fifth place and Melbourne Victory at the bottom of the table are separated by just six points.
So, every team in the league is capable of enjoying a late surge and landing a spot in the finals! You couldn’t make it up.
Sydney FC’s form has been mixed recently, but the Sky Blues have maintained their spot inside the top six.
However if Brisbane beat Wellington in a game that takes place before Steve Corica’s men face the Glory on Sunday, the Sky Blues could drop out of the top half of the table
Sydney FC travelled to Adelaide United on Good Friday and countered many of the Red’s attacking talents in a game where Adam Le Fondre found the net to cancel out Craig Goodwin’s goal and earn a share of the spoils.
Prior to this match, Sydney had drawn 3-3 with Western United before loses to Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix. They have won two of their last eight but the frustrating thing for the Sky Blue faithful is the number of chances they have had to win games throughout that time. On Sunday afternoon they must take them against Perth Glory.
The Western Australians have found the going tough away from home and picked up majority of their points at the packed Macedonia Park. Bizarely they have only won one match on the road this season which came at the hands of the free-scoring Central Coast Mariners back in Round 3. In their last four away matches they have picked up two points which came against Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets.
The Glory have relied heavily on their home venue, only losing one match which came at the hands of first place Melbourne City back in February. This season under Ruben Zadkovich, Glory have found the route to goal easy, scoring in every match this season bar two (last weekend against Victory and Round One against Wanderers).
Last weekend in Melbourne, they sat back against the Victory and were lucky to escape with a point following a second half enslaught from the Victorians. There was late controversy with Victory’s Bruno Fornaroli up-ended in the box deep into the 7th minute of stoppage time however no penalty was awarded when it appeared that clear contact was made.
The reverse fixture in Perth also had it’s fair share of late drama when Perth Glory scored the latest goal in Isuzu UTE A-League history when David William’s header found the net in the 102nd minute to earn a draw against Sydney FC in a game that was delayed by a floodlight failure.
This came after a first half in which Sydney FC should have been more than the two goals ahead and the Sky Blues will be hoping that it is not the same story this weekend.
Overall, Sydney FC hold the ascendancy in this fixture having won 33 of the previous 56 meetings (12 draws & 11 losses) and scoring 102 goals, to just 54 conceded. The Sky Blues love scoring against the Glory, only against the Central Coast Mariners have their netted more times – 103. Between 2016 and 2018, Sydney FC won 10 straight matches against the Glory which shows their dominance over the fixture in recent times.
Ones to Watch
Adam Le Fondre – Sydney FC
The Englishman was back amongst the goals last weekend as he came off the bench to net in the 1-1 draw with Adelaide United. He has been slowly working his way back to fitness following the injury that he picked up in the 1-0 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in Februray.
So far this season, Adam Le Fondre has made 15 appearaces and scored seven goals. With a clean disciplinary record, he boasts an expected goals tally of 7.94 and since missing the two penalties against Wellington Phoenix in January appears to have found the going easier.
All of his goals have come inside the box and he has created 12 chances. Should he find the net this weekend he will better his goal tally from last season.
Ryan Williams – Perth Glory
Ryan Williams has had a successful season at Perth Glory after he joined the club from Oxford United on a free transfer. This season he has found the net three times which is the joint second best for the club, with Perth Glory sharing the goals around the team with 14 different scorers.
The right midfielder represented his country once in 2019 in a friendly against South Korea and since then has played his football in the UK, jumping between clubs such as Portsmouth, Oxford United, Barnsley and Fulham. He was at Fulham when they were in the Premier League between 2011 and 2013 however he never made a first team appearance.
With two goals scored with his right foot and one with his head, Ryan Williams is one to keep quiet on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium as he will always pose a threat to goal.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 24
Sunday 16th April, 2023
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick off: 3:00pm AEST
Gates Open: 2:00pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
