AS IT HAPPENED: Melbourne Victory shock Sydney FC to kick off A-League season

The 2023/24 A-League Men season continues with the Big Blue headlining the opening weekend, as Sydney FC hosts Melbourne Victory at Allianz Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:45pm (AEDT).

With so many positives lacing Australian football right now and after a stunning start to the women’s competition last weekend, the men take to the stage in the opening round of play, and a traditional rivalry between two teams in blue looks the best of the bunch in Round 1.

Off the back of average 2022/23 seasons, the Sky Blues and Victory will be expecting something far more competitive this time around, and the recruitment both have undertaken suggests they will be better versions of themselves this campaign.

Sydney welcome the dynamic Fabio Gomes, who looks a dangerous addition to a front line that already features Robert Mak and Joe Lolley. With experienced men like Rhyan Grant and Anthony Caceres guiding a host of new, young faces, Sydney look to be heading, trustingly, into a new era.

Joel King and Jack Rodwell are unavailable for this fixture, yet the squad looks strong and exciting across the park.

Melbourne Victory enter the season with a host of returning players, and Daniel Arzani and Zinedine Machach loom as title-winning recruits should coach Tony Popovic manage to get the squad to click for the first time in a number of seasons.

The front line of Bruno Fornaroli, Ben Folami and Chris Ikonomidis is as good as it comes in the A-League and with the new men added to the arsenal, Victory look a certain finalist this season.

Prediction

Allianz will be rocking for Sydney’s opening home game of the season and the contest is likely to be a spirited and potentially brutal one.

Look for a strong second half from the Sky Blues, just as they produced in the Australia Cup Final against the Roar. They look fit and ready for the season, with Victory potentially a little better in a month or two’s time.

Sydney FC 3 Melbourne Victory 1

Game information

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 7:45pm (AEDT)
TV: 10 Bold
Streaming: Paramount+
Betting: Sydney FC $2.05, Draw $3.60 , Melbourne Victory $3.25 – odds via PlayUp

Squads

Sydney FC

1. Andrew REDMAYNE, 3. Aaron GURD, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 8. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH, 9. Fabio GOMES, 10. Joe LOLLEY, 11. Robert MAK, 12. Corey HOLLMAN, 13. Pat WOOD, 15. Gabriel LACERDA, 17. Anthony CACERES, 18. Matthew SCARCELLA, 19. Mitch GLASSON, 20. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 21. Zac DE JESUS, 22. Max BURGESS, 23. Rhyan GRANT, 24. Wataru KAMIJO, 25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI , 26. Luke BRATTAN

Melbourne Victory

2. Jason GERIA, 3. Adama TRAORE, 4. Rai MARCHAN, 5. Damien DA SILVA, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7. Chris IKONOMIDIS, 8. Zinedine MACHACH, 10. Bruno FORNAROLI, 11. Ben FOLAMI, 14. Connor CHAPMAN, 16. Stefan NIGRO, 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY, 19. Daniel ARZANI, 20. Paul IZZO, 21. Roderick MIRANDA, 22. Jake BRIMMER, 23. Fabian MONGE, 24. Eli ADAMS, 25. Ryan TEAGUE, 40. Christian SICILIANO