A BULLISH Graham Arnold insists anything other than a debut FFA Cup triumph is “simply not on the agenda” for Sydney FC, as they head for the lion’s den of AAMI Park in Melbourne.

Primed to neutralise the Melbourne City firepower of Tim Cahill and Bruno Fornaroli in Wednesday’s encounter, and unleash his own attacking stocks on City’s rearguard, Arnold said his players had travelled “expecting to win” and earn the Sky Blues a first trophy since 2010.

The FFA Cup climax brings together the last two teams after 701 entered, with a record crowd for the competition expected of at least 17,000.

Though only a fraction of those will be in the Sky Blue of the visitors, Arnold said his players had cast off last weekend’s below-par draw with Adelaide and were set to eradicate the memory of losing the A-League grand final at the same venue 18 months ago.

ULTIMATE CUP GUIDE: Sydney FC v Melbourne City

Melbourne City coach John van't Schip and Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold with the FFA Cup trophy at AAMI Park. Picture: David Caird Source: Getty Images

“We’re not even talking about losing,” Arnold said. “We’re going to Melbourne full of excitement, and we fully expect to win.

“I watched City’s game against Wellington in person on Sunday and I’ve seen enough to know that we should be confident of beating them, and that we’ll be at our best.

“We had an extra day to freshen up, and we’re confident of bringing home a trophy for our fans. They deserve it and our players want it. So losing is simply not on the agenda.”

Sydney sit at the top of the table, four points ahead of City, with the FFA Cup final shaping as a forerunner for a possible grand final.

Victory would, Arnold said, feed into his side’s confidence that they can still be in pole position on the ladder at the far end of the A-League season.

“There are three trophies up for grabs this season, and we seriously want to win all three,” he said. “Our goal at the start of the season was to compete on all fronts, and be in a position to win things.

“So the players are very excited at the prospect of the first of those, they’re fit and they’re ready. It’s a big game for this time of the season, when the A-League is only eight rounds in, and mentally we’re in a great place. I keep saying it but we are the fittest team in the country.”

Arnold insisted there would not be wholesale changes from the settled side that has been unbeaten in the A-League so far, though he confirmed captain Alex Brosque will start after being rested last weekend.

“Brosquey will come back in, and I managed to take off both Bobo and Filip Holosko after 60 minutes on Saturday against Adelaide, to save their legs.

“Even with playing three games in eight days, the turnaround is no problem — we’ve had four days between the game at the weekend and the cup final, and then another four until we play Newcastle on Sunday.”