*Header photo by Jaime Castaneda (@jamcas50)
Sydney FC v Mt Druitt Town Rangers, 7pm Saturday at Lambert Park
Sydney FC will be out to claim three points when they host an in-form Mt Druitt Town Rangers side on Saturday night at Lambert Park.
Jimmy van Weeren’s side has slumped to defeat in their last three games and will be hoping a return home will boost them.
The loss of key players Liam McGing and Jerry Skotadis is sure to have had a major impact on Sydney FC’s structure in both midfield and defence.
Against Wollongong in Round 15, Sydney held strong against the league’s best attack during the first half but fell away in the second stanza.
Van Weeren will be pushing his players at training this week so they can go the full 90 minutes against Mt Druitt.
Sydney FCs rising young keeper Thomas Heward-Belle has no doubt played a role in keeping the Sky Blues at bay and will need to be at his best on Saturday.
The Rangers come into this game with back to back wins and have been unbeaten from their last three matches.
It has been a rapid turnaround for the Popondetta Park based side who have struggled at times this campaign to match it with the competition’s top teams.
Mt Druitt has been active in the transfer market and it appears to have given the team a new vigour.
Last week’s 2-0 upset of Rockdale City Suns was evidence of this and coach Aiden Desmond will be hoping his side can make it a treble of wins against Sydney.
Fabricio Fernandez and John Roberts were the goal scorers last week with the former Wanderer’s striker helping give the Uruguayan midfielder a new lease on life.
Mt Druitt can be a formidable attacking force on it’s day so Sydney will need to be at their best.
The departure of Rangers captain Matthew Clowes hasn’t had as big of an impact as fans anticipated but the midfield will face a challenging test this week against a young and energetic opponent.
Mt Druitt will hold the title of favourite coming into this contest but It very well could go either way.
