Melbourne City are riding high at the top of the Westfield W-League ladder but face a tricky home clash against finals-chasing Canberra United on Thursday night.
Rado Vidosic's City have lived up to their pre-season hype of being among the title favourites, surging to the top of the table on the back of six straight wins.
That started with a 2-1 triumph over Canberra United in Round 2, with Emily van Egmond's late penalty snatching all three points.
United were well in that contest - as they have been in most matches in 2019/20 - and will be desperate to atone, especially with the chance to jump back into the top four with a win.
It all adds up to what should be a thrilling contest to open Round 9 of the campaign on Thursday night.
Read on for all the team news.
PREVIEW: Melbourne City v Canberra United
ROUND 9: How to watch every game in the upcoming round of the Westfield W-League
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Lydia WILLIAMS (gk), 2.Yukari KINGA, 3.Lauren BARNES, 4.Chelsea BLISSETT, 6.Aivi LUIK, 7.Steph CATLEY (c), 8.Nia STAMATOPOULOS, 9.Claire EMSLIE, 10.Emily VAN EGMOND, 11.Rhali DOBSON, 13.Rebekah STOTT, 15.Emma CHECKER, 17.Kyah SIMON, 19.Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC, 20.Milica MIJATOVIC, 21.Ellie CARPENTER, 23.Melissa HUDSON **two to be omitted**
Ins: 8.Nia STAMATOPOULOS (promoted), 11.Rhali DOBSON (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 16.Sofia SAKALIS (Knee - season)
Canberra United squad: 1.Annalee GROVE (gk), 2.Laura HUGHES, 3.Kaleigh KURTZ, 5.Nikola ORGILL (c), 7.Simone CHARLEY, 8.Olivia PRICE, 10.Camila PEREIRA, 11.Elise THORSNES, 12.Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG, 15.Ashlie CROFTS, 16.Karly ROESTBAKKEN, 17.Patricia CHARALAMBOUS, 19.Leena KHAMIS, 20.Shamiran KHAMIS (gk), 21.Rebekah HORSEY, 23.Lauren KEIR, 24.Aoife COLVILL. **two to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Laura HUGHES (promoted), 21.Rebekah HORSEY (promoted), 17.Patricia CHARALAMBOUS (promoted), 24.Aoife COLVILL (promoted)
Outs: 4.Jessie RASSCHAERT (not selected), 6.Emma STANBURY (not selected)
Unavailable: 4.Jessie RASSCHAERT (personal leave), 9.Katie STENGEL (ankle)
Thursday, 9 January 2020
ABD Stadium, Broadmeadows
Kick-Off: 7:30pm (Local)( 7:30pm (AEDT))
Referee: Kate Jacewicz
Assistant Referee 1: Joanna Charaktis
Assistant Referee 2: Danielle Anderson
Fourth Official: Caitlin Williams
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7:15pm (AEDT), Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #MCYvCBR
To purchase tickets visit www.w-league.com.au/tickets
