Header photo by Jaime Castaneda (@jamcas50)
Friday night football brings together two sides at opposite ends of the Hyundai A-League ladder but two strikers at the top of their game.
Brisbane Roar’s Adam Taggart has 11 goals for the campaign, an excellent return for a team who have scored just 21 all campaign, and just one behind current Golden Boot leader Adam Le Fondre of the Sky Blues.
The prolific duo both found the net for their respective sides last weekend, but in very contrasting circumstances.
Taggart’s strike came as a nine-man Roar surrendered a 3-0 lead to incredibly lose 4-3 to Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium in a match that really summed up their season.
Roar remain stranded on just one win for the season, coming all the way back in Round 5 (November 24) against Melbourne City.
And it was City that Sydney FC disposed of last weekend, with Le Fondre’s late goal – after Andrew Redmayne’s penalty save – sealing a 2-0 win.
That result has kept the Sky Blues well in contention for another Premiership and with the top two Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory to meet on Sunday, they could be even closer to the summit with a win in this one.
They are likely to head north with exciting new recruit Reza Ghoochannejhad in their squad, with the Iranian attacker a good chance to make his debut.
It’s only going to make Roar’s task of pulling off a major upset at Suncorp Stadium even harder, especially as Sydney have lost just three of their last 14 Hyundai A-League matches against the Queenslanders.
Key Opta stats
- Brisbane Roar have not tasted victory at home in the A-League since November last year, having recorded three losses and a draw on home soil since then.
- Sydney FC will be looking to avoid-back-to back defeats on the road in the A-League for the first time since March 2014, after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Victory on Australia Day at AAMI Park.
- Brisbane Roar have conceded seven goals in the opening 15 minutes this season, three more than any other side in the A-League; Sydney FC have conceded just one in this same period.
Ins and outs
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Brendan WHITE (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Adam TAGGART, 11.Eric BAUTHEAC, 12.Ruon TONGYIK, 14.Alex LOPEZ, 15.Stefan NIGRO, 16.Charles LOKOLI-NGOY, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 18.Joe CALETTI, 19.Jack HINGERT, 22.Tobias MIKKELSEN, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 31.Macklin FREKE (gk), 33.HENRIQUE, 38.Izaack POWELL **two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Luke DEVERE (promoted), 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN (promoted), 12.Ruon TONGYIK (new signing), 16.Charles LOKOLI-NGOY (new signing), 31.Macklin FREKE (gk) (promoted), 38.Izaack POWELL (promoted)
Outs: 2.Dane INGHAM (suspended), 4.Daniel BOWLES (suspended), 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk) (suspended), 26.Nicholas D’AGOSTINO (not selected)
Unavailable: 10.Brett HOLMAN (knee), 13.Stefan MAUK (groin), 24.Connor O’Toole (broken leg)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2.Aaron CALVER, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON, 6.Josh BRILLANTE, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.Adam LE FONDRE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Daniel DE SILVA, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 16. Reza GHOOCHANNEJHAD, 17.Anthony CACERES, 20.Alex CISAK (gk), 21. Mitch AUSTIN, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 31.Luke IVANOVIC. **two to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Michael ZULLO (return from suspension), 14.Alex BROSQUE (return from injury), 16. Reza GHOOCHANNEJHAD (new signing), 17.Anthony CACERES (return from injury).
Outs: 5. Jop van der LINDEN (not selected), 24. Cam DEVLIN (not selected).
Unavailable: 12.Trent BUHAGIAR (ACL – indefinite), 22.Siem DE JONG (knee – 2 weeks), 19.Chris ZUVELA (knee – indefinite).
How to watch
Tune in to FOX SPORTS 505 to catch Sydney FC’s trip north to face a wounded Roar, which kicks off at 7.50pm (AEDT). You can also stream it live on the MyFootball Live App or watch it by subscribing to Kayo Sports.
