Expert
Melbourne City and Sydney FC face off at AAMI Park in a top-of-the-table clash. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEDT).
City have been stoic in defence, yet have also found ways to put the ball in the net in every match, parlaying that into four wins to sit atop the ladder.
Sydney have also started well, with only their draw against the Wanderers tarnishing their season to this point.
They premiers haven’t quite hit the heights of their stellar 2016-17, however there have been enough early signs to suggest that they will be somewhere around the mark when the finals roll around.
Therefore, this becomes an acid test for City and a night where they could stake a claim for early A-League favouritism. All eyes will be on Ross McCormack once again, after his impressive start to the campaign, yet his supporting cast of Tim Cahill and Bruce Kamau could be just as vital in finding ways past a usually reliable Sydney defence.
Sydney will no doubt look to their talisman Milos Ninkovic, while Bobo is in goal-scoring form and looking sharper and fitter than last season.
After coming off the bench recently, it will be interesting to see how Graham Arnold uses Adrian Mierzejewski and the attacking options of both teams could make for a classic encounter.
Prediction
In a tense and potentially brutal encounter, it is hard to see an avalanche of goals. In a game sure to be decided by key moments and opportunistic chances, a draw seems likely.
Melbourne City 1-1 Sydney FC
Catch all the action on The Roar live coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).