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Sydney FC have added another win to their ledger, with a late winner from Milos Ninkovic giving them a 1-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix.
» Click here to read our full match report
Final score
Wellington Phoenix 0
Sydney FC 1
It’s first versus last as the Wellington Phoenix welcome an in-form Sydney FC outfit to Westpac Stadium. Join The Roar from 5:00PM (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
At the beginning of week three of the A-League, Wellington and Sydney FC find themselves with remarkably different fortunes. The former are dwelling in bottom spot on the ladder with no points on the board, owing to back-to-back defeats to Melbourne City and Perth Glory.
Their opponents, who make the trek across the ditch from Sydney for this clash, are in rampant form following comprehensive 4-0 victories over rivals Western Sydney Wanderers and the Central Coast Mariners – not to mention securing a maiden FFA Cup final berth on Wednesday evening.
While they secured a number of big-name signings in the offseason, Ernie Merrick’s men have yet to hit their straps in the 2016/17 campaign. Italian defender Marco Rossi, a former Italy under-21 representative, was joined at the ‘Nix by former Melbourne Victory attacking stars Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler.
Despite this injection of attacking talent, the boys from New Zealand are yet to find the net in 180 minutes this season. Merrick will be hoping his troops can find some chemistry and go forward as they face the league’s highest-scoring and best defensive team.
Wellington haven’t registered a victory in six A-League matches, a worrying statistic made all the more worse considering they are the only side in the league not to find the net this season. Merrick’s men must turn it around soon or their gaffer could be out of a job in the not-too-distant future.
Sydney FC have looked untouchable in the opening two rounds of the season. They’ve netted eight times and have not seen their own net penetrated even once this campaign. Marquees Bobo and Filip Holosko have looked classy, to say the least, with the former scoring twice and assisting once in his first two appearances for the club.
Holosko, FC’s leading goalscorer from 2015/16, has hit his form early this season, already finding the net three times and assisting once in just two games. If this form is anything to go on, Sydney FC may just have found themselves one of the most potent forward lines in the A-League.
Interestingly enough, despite their dominance on the scoresheet, Sydney FC have actually garnered the least amount of possession of any side in the opening two rounds (41%).
In team news, the away side welcome back Bernie Ibini from injury whilst Riley Woodcock is also included. For the boys from Wellington, Ryan Lowry, Louis Fenton and Matthew Ridenton make the squad while Alex Rodriguez misses out.
Prediction
In recent history, these two sides have been fairly well matched. The ‘Nix emerged victorious in their last meeting, with a 3-1 scoreline the outcome as they bested Sydney away from home. However, over the last six clashes between the sides, the spoils are split with two wins apiece as well as 2 stalemates.
It looks as though Sydney certainly have the edge over the Kiwis this time around.
Wellington 0-3 Sydney FC.
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