Sydney FC will look to propel themselves towards the top two and go seven points clear of the bottom six when they play Perth Glory tonight at 9:45pm in Western Australia.
This match is crucial to the top two race as the Sky Blues sit on 34 points. A win would see them surpass Macarthur into fourth place and put them one point behind third placed Melbourne Victory with four games to play.
Sydney FC and Perth were initially scheduled to play this fixture in round 12, however it was rescheduled to allow for the Unite Round.
The Sky Blues defeated the Central Coast Mariners 2-0 at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night prompting Ufuk Talay to say that it was “the best performance I’ve seen here”.
Sydney FC controlled the second-placed side from the outset to the final whistle, dominating possession and holding the Mariners to one shot on target all night.
They showed how dominant they were making close to 140 passes which were finished by two goals in three minutes to Anthony Caceres and Joel King.
Former-Sydney FC Championship winning coach Alan Stajcic explained that versing the Sky Blues tonight will be “the toughest game of the season” due to their form, which has accounted for 34 points in the last 20 games, placing them third on the form ladder.
Perth’s season woes continued after they went down 2-1 to Melbourne Victory meaning they haven’t won since February and have picked up two points from the last 15 – the lowest of any side.
Melbourne dominated the match, having almost 200 more passes in the Perth half than the Glory had in Victory’s.
Bruno Fornaroli capped off Melbourne’s dominance with two goals, one either side of halftime.
Daniel Bennie got a goal back for the Glory, but it wasn’t enough, as Victory earned the three points.
Bennie’s strike in the final 30 minutes is typical of Perth’s season, where 14 of their last 20 goals have been scored in the 60th minute and beyond.
Sydney FC are top of the goal scored index so far with 41 while the Glory sit 5th just two goals behind on 39.
However the West Australian’s are bottom on goals conceded with 45 and keeper Oliver Sail has only recorded one clean sheet all season.
Having only won five matches this Isuzu-UTE A-League season, the Glory sit 10th and are two points away from the foot of the table.
One’s To Watch:
Joe Lolley:
It is undeniable that Joe Lolley has been one of Sydney FC’s and the A-League’s best players this season.
From his ability to dance around defenders, provide slick through balls to attackers, and score sharp goals with his dangerous left foot, the Englishmen has contributed to every Sky Blue match this season.
The number 10 currently has 15 goal contributions this season and against the Mariners, he assisted Anthony Caceres’s opening goal in the contest.
Lolley also scored the opening goal against Perth the last time they played.
Adam Taggart:
Despite Perth coming 10th on the ladder, Adam Taggart sits second in the Golden Boot race, two goals behind Bruno Fornaroli, with 15 goals and three assists.
In Sydney FC’s last outing with Perth, Taggart scored one after streaming through the left side of the Sky Blue defence before curling it into the bottom left corner.
Taggart has been a threat to teams this season due to his speed, sneaking around defences and ability to put the ball in the back of the net.
Making 4.6 shots per game and creating 1.1 key passes per game, the Sky Blues will have to look out for him if they are to come away with the three points.
2023/2024 – Compare The Pair
| 5-6-11 | PER-RECORD-SYD | 10-4-8 |
| 1-3-6 | H2H LAST 10 GAMES | 6-3-1 |
| 5-8-16 | H2H IN PERTH | 16-8-5 |
| 42.8% | POSSESSION PG | 53.6% |
| 1.8 | GOALS SCORED PG | 1.9 |
| 2 | GOALS CONCEDED PG | 1.5 |
| 13.1 | SHOTS PG | 19 |
| 5 | SHOTS ON TARGET PG | 6.6 |
| 1 | CLEAN SHEETS | 2 |
| 4.5 | SAVES PG | 3 |
| 314 | PASSES PG | 375 |
| 10.3 | FOULS PG | 13.3 |
| 1.8 | YELLOW CARDS PG | 1.9 |
Team News:
No Sydney FC players were injured against Central Coast on Saturday, seeing Ufuk Talay bring a similar lineup to the West coast.
Perth will be without Antonis Martis and Adam Zimarino after they sustained injuries earlier in the season.
Last Time Out:
The last time the Sky Blues took on Perth Glory was in December when Sydney FC came out 3-2 victors after goals to Joe Lolley and Robert Mak saw the Sky Blues stretch their lead to 2-0 by halftime.
Despite a two-hour rain delay, the Sky Blues came out firing again but could not increase the lead.
However, Adam Taggart halved the deficit after burying the ball into the bottom corner.
It looked like Alex Sunsjar’s deflection off Fabio Gomes into the goal was the sealer for the Sky Blues; but another late goal to Oliver Bozanic saw Perth bring the deficit to one and set up a frantic injury time.
Sydney FC survived the final minutes, seeing them collect the three points.
Match Details:
Perth Glory v Sydney FC Isuzu-UTE A League, Round 12 (Rescheduled due to Unite Round) Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 HBF Park, Perth, WA Kick Off: 9:45PM (AEDT) 6:45PM (local) Broadcast Live: Paramount+ Buy Tickets: Click Here
