Roar Guru
Brisbane Roar become just the second team in A-League history to start a campaign with three consecutive losses after suffering a 0-2 home defeat at the hand of Sydney FC.
The only other team to hold that dubious honour is the now defunct North Queensland Fury.
Last season’s champions appear to have a long season ahead of them at this stage.
FINAL SCORE:
Brisbane 0
Sydney 2
Defending champions Brisbane Roar are out to halt a miserable start to the season when they host third-placed Sydney FC. Join The Roar from 8:00pm (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
Arguably the league’s most consistent side in recent seasons, the Brisbane Roar have endured a tough start to their campaign with losses to Adelaide United and Perth Glory.
Brisbane have enjoyed recent success against Sydney, and will be looking to improve on that record. In their three meetings last season, the Queenslanders recorded two wins (4-nil, 5-2) and a 1-1 draw against their southern rivals.
Sydney FC enter the match on the back of a promising start to their league campaign. In their opening two fixtures they have recorded a draw against Melbourne City, and a 3-2 derby win against the Wanderers.
They are however backing up after a mid-week loss in the FFA Cup.
Tonight’s match is their third match in less than a week, and physically could be a challenge for the Sydneysiders in the latter stages of the way.
How Brisbane can win:
Despite being on the wrong side of the score-sheet in their opening two matches, the defending champions haven’t actually played bad football. They have had to make adjustments to their playing style – the loss of Berisha, and Franjic has hurt them. An early season suspension for their skipper Matt Mckay hasn’t helped either.
They conceded very late against Perth, and they won’t make that same mistake again. An early goal could give them the confidence to run away with the match.
How Sydney can win:
All through pre-season Graham Arnold has spoken about the necessity of having squad depth. He made several changes for the FFA cup loss to Adelaide United, and will welcome back some players who missed that match for tonight’s encounter, but lose Nikola Petkovic after he was sent off against the Reds.
Sydney’s passing game against the Wanderers was crisp and effective, but due to the changes made for the match against Adelaide, they lacked the same fluency. To get a result they will need to recapture it.
If Sydney are to win they will need to weather the early onslaught that Brisbane will throw at them, and look for opportunities to counter.
Likely Result:
Beware the wounded champion.
Brisbane 2-nil.