Sydney FC will welcome Melbourne City to the Jubilee Oval for an Australian A-League fixture on Saturday.
The hosts will be looking to get back to winning ways following their 1-0 defeat away to Western United on Wednesday. Steven Lustica's strike midway through the second half proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Melbourne City edged out the Central Coast Mariners in a five-goal thriller on home turf. Marco Tilio's 74th-minute strike helped them secure a 3-2 victory in front of their fans.
The victory helped them hold on to second spot, where they currently trail Western United by one point. Sydney FC sit in fifth place with 18 points to show for their efforts in 14 games.
Sydney FC vs Melbourne City Head-to-Head
This will be the 37th meeting between the two sides. Sydney FC have 15 wins to their name, while Melbourne City were victorious on 11 occasions, with 10 matches ending in a stalemate.
Their most recent clash came in June 2021 in the final of the playoffs last season. Melbourne City secured a 3-1 victory to win their maiden league crown.
Sydney FC from guide: L-D-D-W-W
Melbourne City form guide: W-W-L-W-W
Sydney FC vs Melbourne City Team News
Sydney FC
Michael Zullo, Luke Brattan and Chris Zuvela are all unavailable due to injuries. Furthermore, Patrick Yazbek and Calem Nieuwenhof have also been ruled out, while Mustafa Amini is a doubt for the game.
Injuries: Luke Brattan, Patrick Yazbek, Michael Zullo, Calem Nieuwenhof, Chris Zuvela
Doubtful: Mustafa Amini
Suspension: None
Melbourne City
Scott Jamieson sustained an injury against Adelaide and is still on the treatment table.
Injury: Scott Jamieson
Suspension: None
Sydney FC vs Melbourne City Predicted XI
Sydney FC Predicted XI (4-4-2): Andrew Redmayne (GK); Conor O'Toole, Ben Warland, Alex Wilkinson, James Donachie; Anthony Caceres, Paulo Retre, Max Burgess, Milos Ninkovic; Adam Le Fondre, Bobo
Melbourne City Predicted XI (4-2-2-2): Tom Glover (GK); Scott Galloway, Rostyn Griffiths, Curtis Good, Carl Jenkinson; Aiden O'Neill, Florin Berenguer; Mathew Leckie, Andrew Nabbout; Jamie Maclaren, Marco Tilio
Sydney FC vs Melbourne City Prediction
Melbourne City have been the more consistent side, and enter the game as slight favorites. The visitors are still on track to successfully retain their title and need maximum points to keep pace with Western United.
They will, however, have to perform at an optimum against Sydney, even though the hosts have been out-of-sorts in recent weeks. Both sides have enough quality to get on the scoresheet but we are backing the visitors to secure a narrow victory.
Prediction: Sydney FC 1-2 Melbourne City