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Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has cranked up the mind games ahead of Saturday’s A-League derby, claiming Western Sydney Wanderers will have one eye on the Asian Champions League final.
The Wanderers slumped to the heaviest defeat in their history last Friday when they went down 4-1 to Melbourne Victory and Arnold questioned whether their focus was on the game or their ACL first-leg clash with Al-Hilal on October 25.
“I’ve been in those positions before and it’s a big distraction,” Arnold said.
“Knowing you have a huge game in front of you, players don’t want to get injured and miss those types occasions.
“As Tony Popovic said it was a bad day at the office, they hadn’t conceded four goals before and are a very strong, well coached side.
“Was last week a one-off or was it because they had one eye on the Champions League? I’ll guess we’ll find out.”
Arnold claimed last week that the Sky Blues were still the biggest club in town, despite their Sydney rivals’ outstanding success over the last two years.
And in a claim that is sure to infuriate Wanderers fans the former Central Coast boss said Saturday’s game is the most prestigious of the three between the sides this season – two of which will be at Parramatta Stadium.
“Without a doubt it’s the biggest derby for us this season,” Arnold said.
“There will be 42,000 there at Allianz Stadium compared to the 18,000 when we play at Parramatta.”
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