The clash
Melbourne City will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to three matches when they clash with Western Sydney at ANZ Stadium on New Year’s Day.
Late heroics from captain Scott Jamieson and Dario Vidosic saw City earn a share of the spoils against Melbourne Victory in Round 9.
Victory’s Ola Toivonen opened the scoring 10-minutes into the second-half, before Vidosic met Jamieson’s cross with a thunderous header in the 90+2nd minute to level the scores and earn a much-deserved point in the Christmas Derby.
Following their 2-0 win over Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium in Round 8, Head Coach Warren Joyce’s side is now unbeaten in two consecutive league fixtures, as they begin to hit their straps.
With the equal best defence in the league, conceding nine goals in the opening nine matches including only two goals conceded in the last four matches, City will be looking to build their performances off the back of their strength in defence.
Despite City’s run of form over the past fortnight, the task won’t be easy on New Year’s Day, facing the Wanderers on their home deck.
Head Coach Markus Babbel’s side is coming off a 2-2 draw with Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium.
Spanish striker Oriol Riera pounced on the rebound of his own saved penalty to open the scoring for the Wanderers on the stroke of half-time, before Nikola Mileusnic notched a quick-fire double in the opening 10-minutes of the second-half to hand the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Despite conceding two goals in seven-minutes, Babbel’s side responded through former City attacker Bruce Kamau, who fired home a goal from inside the penalty area to earn a share of the spoils.
With both teams coming off entertaining clashes in Round 9, we are set for a thriller to open the New Year at ANZ Stadium.
Team news
City come into the clash with an unchanged line up. See our full Team News.
Last time they met
The last time the two teams met was back in Round 24 of the 2017/18 Hyundai A-League season, where City ran out 3-0 winners at AAMI Park.
Bruno Fornaroli opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, before second-half goals to Michael Jakobsen and Stefan Mauk saw the home side seal the three-points.
What was said
Head Coach Warren Joyce
Results in the A-League show that everybody can beat one another and this week is no different. There are no easy games in this league so we have to be at the top of our game, be professional and get the result against Western Sydney.
Where and when
City take on the Wanderers on Tuesday 1 January at ANZ Stadium, kick-off 7:50pm, before returning to Melbourne to host Newcastle Jets on Sunday 6 January at AAMI Park, kick-off 5:00pm (AEDT).
