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Sydney FC vs Shandong Luneng highlights: Sky Blues bow out of ACL

25th May, 2016
Kickoff: 8pm (AEST)
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (UZB)
TV: Live, Fox Sports 3
Betting: Sydney FC $2.25, draw $3.20, Shandong $2.88

Sydney FC (predicted)
1 VEDRAN JANJETOVIC, 23 RHYAN GRANT, 5 MATTHEW JURMAN, 4 ZAC ANDERSON, 16 RILEY WOODCOCK, 13 BRANDON O'NEILL, 17 DAVID CARNEY, 10 MILOS NINKOVIC, 8 MILOS DIMITRIJEVIC, 18 MATT SIMON, 24 GEORGE BLACKWOOD
Substitutes
20 IVAN NECEVSKI. 7 ANDREW HOOLE. 11 CHRIS NAUMOFF. 29 ALEX MULLEN.6 ROBERT STAMBOLZIEV, 26 MAX BURGESS, 9 SHANE SMELTZ

Shandong Luneng (predicted)
25 WANG DALEI, 5 GIL, 4 JUCILEI, 9 DIEGO TARDELLI, 16 ZHENG ZHENG, 17 WU XINGHAN, 10 WALTER MONTILLO, 2 ZHAO MINGJIAN, 15 LI WEI, 35 DAI LIN, 11 BINBIN Liu
Substitutes
20 HAN RONGZE, 14 WANG TONG, 3 LI SONGYI, 29 ZHANG WENZHAO, 8 WANG YONGPO, 19 YANG XU, 22 HAO JUNMIN
Sydney FC face unheralded opposition in Blacktown City FC in the FFA Cup. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Editor
25th May, 2016
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2684 Reads

Sydney FC will enter the second leg of their Champions League tie against Shandong Luneng with a vital away goal under their belt, and a home ground advantage. Follow all the live highlights and action coming out of Allianz Stadium on The Roar from 8pm (AEST).

A David Carney header in the first half last week was enough to earn the Sky Blues a draw on the road, in what has been a surprisingly dominant ACL campaign for a Sydney side that struggled in the A-League.

While they didn’t exactly walk away with a win, Sydney will be buoyed by the second leg being in front of the vocal home crowd.

However, coach Graham Arnold has urged his side not to be complacent, with only a draw technically needed.

“It’s extremely dangerous if you try to play for a draw and sit back. We know one way to play and that is to go forward” Arnold warned.

“We’re at home. We have to have the intention to win the game and that is the intention, right from the first minute.”

Shandong Luneng have similarly been struggling in their domestic competition, as Sydney did, currently sitting on the wrong side of relegation in the Chinese Super League so far this season with just two wins from ten games.

But the Shandong outfit isn’t to be underestimated, having finished third in the Super League just last year, as well as already having a pair of trips to the ACL quarter finals on their resume.

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After a scoreless draw over the weekend in the Chinese Super League, Shandong Luneng coach Mano Menezes was grilled by the Chinese media about his side’s chances in the ACL, especially away from home.

“We have been playing better away from home and if we have a little luck then we can win,” said Menezes about the trip south.

“Playing in Asia and playing in the league are different. The players have confidence.”

With their request to get their league game postponed to prepare for this game denied last week, Shandong had to play a lackluster zip all draw between ACL fixtures, not the ideal preparation at all, and no doubt a result that has hurt their confidence a touch.

Prediction
If you looked at either side’s domestic league standings coming into the tournament then you wouldn’t expect them to even be at this stage, but both teams have been in top form throughout the ACL and the 1-1 draw proved how equal they are.

Shandong look to be the underdog coming into this one, with travel and recent form going against them. Look for a relatively tight Sydney win.

Sydney FC to win by 1 goal, 2-1.

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Can Sydney FC keep their maiden run past the group stages alive with a historic result at home? Or will Shandong Luneng crash the party and advance to the quarter finals? Catch all the live highlights and ACL action on The Roar from 8pm (AEST).

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