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Scores updated regularly. REFRESH NOW
Melbourne City vs Sydney FC |
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|---|---|---|
2016 FFA Cup Final |
||
| AAMI Park, Melbourne | ||
| Melbourne City | Sydney FC | |
| 1 | SCORE | 0 |
| 9 | Shots | 5 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 3 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
The FFA Cup final is finally here and what a matchup it is. Sydney FC and Melbourne City hold the top two spots on the A-League ladder and will do battle in the third edition of the Cup final. Join The Roar for our live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEDT).
We are guaranteed a first-time winner of the FFA Cup tonight as both sides make their final debut in the competition.
It’s Sydney who come into the game sitting pretty at the top of the A-League mountain at the moment, having run through the first eight games of the season undefeated and creating a four-point buffer at the right end of the table.
And to make things more intimidating for City, the Sky Blues haven’t conceded a single goal in their FFA Cup campaign, scoring 11 of their own in just four games.
City struggled early on, just sneaking past lower-tier teams Floreat Athena and Brisbane Strikers 2-1 on both occasions.
They picked up the pace in the finals through, walking all over Western Sydney as they slotted four goals to one, then comfortably beating out the Victory in a semi-final edition of the Melbourne Derby.
Sydney remain unbeaten in the A-League but the cracks are beginning to show after a one-all draw against Brisbane and a goalless stalemate against last-placed Adelaide United in the past two weeks.
City have gone unbeaten in their last three league games to overtake Victory and the Roar in second place.
Despite the importance and silverware on the line, both coaches have underplayed the big game pressure leading into the contest.
“We’re ready. It’s another game, the goalposts haven’t been changed because it’s a final. We have to win and we will win,” said Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold.
“Playing here in Melbourne is fantastic, it doesn’t bother us one bit. We’ve had good results down here in the past.”
City coach John van’t Schip has also been confident his side won’t be affected by the occasion.
“We want to continue the way we play. We’re not changing things up because it’s a final,” he said.
“The club is putting a lot of effort, everybody is really looking forward and building until this moment… finals are there to win.”
Team news
Melbourne will be welcoming back Socceroo veteran Tim Cahill to the starting line-up after being shifted to the bench on the weekend in City’s win over Wellington.
Despite training for City during the week, there are still doubts over Osama Malik and his injured groin. Ivan Franjic also trained with a strapped up leg but is expected to take his place in the side.
Argentine Nicolas Colazo made his return from ear surgery off the bench against Wellington over the weekend, and it will be a toss-up as to whether or not he’s done enough to earn a starting spot tonight/
For Sydney, veteran Alex Brosque will return to the side after being rested from the nil-all draw against Adelaide over the weekend.
Prediction
This is a very hard game to call. You probably couldn’t have picked two better sides in this kind of form to contest the final.
Results throughout the FFA Cup and early season A-League form would point to a Sydney FC win, but they’ve just slipped a touch in recent weeks, opening the door for City to charge up the ladder and close the gap.
The home ground advantage shouldn’t be taken lightly either.
It’s been six years since Sydney last won a trophy, and unfortunately for them, they might have to keep waiting.
Melbourne City 3-2.
Be sure to join us on The Roar from 7:30pm (AEDT) to find out which one of Sydney FC and Melbourne City will take home their maiden FFA Cup title.
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