#BRIvSYD

Mike Mulvey’s Brisbane Roar host Frank Farina’s Sydney FC in a rematch of last season’s round 27. Brisbane won that game, clinching 6th spot and eliminating Sydney from playoff contention. Sydney will be looking for revenge but it won’t be easy. The Sky Blues have a very poor record at Suncorp Stadium.

Last week:

Sydney played a very interesting, unusual style last week. They allowed Newcastle have a majority of possession but outnumbered them in the midfield. Sydney’s pressure paid dividends as it resulted in Sydney’s 2-on-1 pressure, leading to Chianese’s goal.

Both goals scored by Sydney were scored when Newcastle were caught in transition. Sydney counter-attacked through Alessandro Del Piero, who had plenty of time and space throughout the game. It is uncertain as to whether this was deliberate by Farina or whether Sydney played poorly. But the game indicated that Sydney were extremely comfortable.

Brisbane were away to Wellington in an intriguing encounter. The Roar played an end-to-end, long ball style reminiscent of Stoke City but with added flair. Conditions were not ideal as the Wellington wind played havoc with the accuracy of passes.

Against the odds Wellington went into the break 1:0 up. But the Roar equalised just after the start of the second half with Besart Berisha finding the net. The rest of the second half was entertaining, with Thomas Broich competing with Carlos Hernandez to assume control of the game.

Brisbane displayed enough nous to snatch the game at the death, thanks to Ivan Franjic. While Brisbane did not play their famous style, three points is three points and they will be looking to the comforts of Suncorp Stadium to get back into their groove.

With both sides having talent in abundance, both sides contain enough quality to win the game. Brisbane’s attacking talent of Broich, Berisha and Franjic may be more favoured to make an impact on the game as Sydney’s back four, who kept a clean sheet last week, were relatively untested against the Jets.

Head-to-Head

Played: 26. Sydney: 7. Draw: 8. Brisbane: 11.

Sydney FC:

Sydney FC are still missing a truckload of players due to injury. Brett Emerton returns from a minor injury. Ali Abbas and Matt Thompson had good performances for the Sky Blues so expect little to change on Saturday night. Rhyan Grant may also be a possible starter.

Injury Report: Tiago Calvano, Corey Gameiro, Peter Triantis, Pascal Bosschart, Terry Antonis, Brett Emerton, Terry Mcflynn

International duty: (Yairo Yau – international duty), Blake Powell, Josh MacDonald ( both on youth team duty)

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3):

Vedran Janjetovic

Pedj Bojic Sebastian Ryall Nikolai Petkovic Marc Warren

Nick Carle

Matt Thompson Brett Emerton

Joel Chianese Alessandro Del Piero Richard Garcia

Brisbane Roar:

Brisbane Roar almost have a full strength squad this week. Franjic, Broich and Berisha all had good games against Wellington. Berisha has an impressive scoring record against Sydney FC and will look to continue that form and lead his men to victory. Socceroo Matt McKay will still be unavailable after playing midweek against Canada. Franjic is expected to stay in his role higher up the park, despite his regular position being in defence.

Injury Report: Nil.

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3):

Michael Theo

Jack Hingert Jade North Shane Stefanutto Matt Smith

Luke Brattan Liam Miller

Thomas Broich

Kwama Yeboah Besart Berisha Ivan Franjic

Key Players

Sydney

I think the key battle will be between Sydney’s defensive midfielder and Brisbane’s attacking midfielder. Nicky Carle will have the job of marking German Thomas Broich all day (hilariously compared to Mesut Ozil by the witty Kiwi commentators last Sunday) and will also be trying to stop the supply to targetman Berisha. Carle was superb last week, not only extinguishing build-ups from the Jets but also started a few plays of his own. He will have a big role to play come Saturday night

Brisbane

Obviously that means Thomas Broich, a.k.a. the A-league’s Mesut Ozil, will be the key man for the men in orange. A great player with many different skills in his armoury, it will be up to him and Franjic to supply Berisha. Broich was terrific last week and the 3 players were standouts in the 2-1 victory over the Nix.

This is a classic “Number 10 vs Number 8” battle which could potentially decide the game.

Final Verdict:

Before the season began I thought both teams would play very similar styles of football with Frank Farina trying to implement at Sydney what he did at Brisbane a few years ago. Neither team played that style of attractive, short-passing, possession-based game last week.

Sydney pressed well in midfield last week and it may happen again against Brisbane, who are known for their strong midfield. Del Piero and Garcia will need to drop back and help the midfield to ensure that players like Broich, Berisha and Franjic don’t get time and space with the ball.

Score prediction

This looks to be a really tough game for the Sky Blues and it will take a mammoth effort from them if they are to come away with any points. Sydney have lost their last 8 games at Suncorp and even though I’m probably one of the most optimistic Sydney FC fans out there, I can’t see Sydney getting anything out of this. If the football Gods smile on the Sky Blues we might be lucky to get away with a 1:1 draw but more than likely it’ll be a disappointing evening.

But remember, records are there to be broken…

Final Score: 3-1 Brisbane

Fun Facts

Before last Friday night, Sydney FC lost their last 5 Friday night games

Sydney FC haven’t won at Suncorp in their past 9 games, their worst record in any ground in Australia and the worst record away from home for Sydney

Last week was the 100th game Sydney FC played at Allianz stadium since its inception

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