In-form Adelaide United will be out to consolidate their spot in the top six when they take on out-of-sorts Premiers Sydney FC on Thursday night.
The Reds have yet to taste defeat since the competition’s resumption, winning two and drawing one of their three matches so far.
Interim boss Carl Veart has had a positive effect on the squad, with the Reds running rampant in a 5-3 win over Perth Glory last Thursday night.
While Adelaide have been on fire, it’s been a different story for the Sky Blues.
The Premiers’ Plate is safe in their keeping but Steve Corica’s troops are in unchartered territory, losing back-to-back games including Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Melbourne City.
Sydney will want to stop the rot quickly before the finals, ensuring this should be an entertaining clash at ANZ Stadium.
Thursday, August 6 2020
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Venue: ANZ Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 507
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
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Team news
Adelaide United squad: 2.Michael MARRONE, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 6.Stefan MAUK, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Riley McGREE, 11.Kristian OPSETH, 14.George BLACKWOOD, 18.Lachlan BROOK, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Michael JAKOBSEN (c), 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 27.Louis D’ARRIGO, 34.Yared ABETEW, 35.Al Hassan TOURE, 36.Noah SMITH, 40.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk), 42.Taras GOMULKA, 49.Mohamed TOURE
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 34.Yared Abetew (promoted), 35.Al Hassan TOURE (returns from injury)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 10.James TROISI (knee), 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (knee - season), 17.Nikola MILEUSNIĆ (foot), 29.Kusini YENGI (pelvis)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2.Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 5.Alex BAUMJOHANN, 6.Ryan McGOWAN, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.Adam LE FONDRE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 18.Luke IVANOVIC, 19.Chris ZUVELA, 20.Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 21.Harry VAN DER SAAG, 24.Marco TILIO, 28.Calem NIEUWENHOF
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Ben WARLAND (return from injury), 24.Marco TILIO (promoted), 28. Calem NIEUWENHOF (promoted).
Outs: 26.Luke BRATTAN (suspended (accumulation of yellow cards) - 1 week)
Unavailable: 23.Rhyan GRANT (1 week - groin)
Did you know?
- Sydney FC are undefeated in their last 11 Hyundai A-League games against Adelaide United (W8, D3), keeping seven clean sheets in that period.
- Sydney FC have won their last five Hyundai A-League games on the bounce in New South Wales against Adelaide United, outscoring them 11-2 across that period.
- Sydney FC have lost their last two Hyundai A-League games heading into this fixture; the last time they lost more in succession was a three-game stretch from October to November in 2013.
- The Reds have had 13 unique goal scorers throughout the 2019/20 campaign, nearly half of all the players they have used (27); only Central Coast Mariners (14) have had more individual goal scorers this campaign.