Our season rolls on this week as we head to Brisbane to take on the Roar. See the five things we are looking forward to ahead of the contest.
4-3-3 or 3-5-2?
It’s the question that will not only keep City fans on the edge of their seat but Brisbane Roar Head Coach John Aloisi and his coaching team awake at night as they prepare to take on the chameleon Melbourne City.
Friday night’s contest showed playing with four at the back is not out of the question with the solid performances of Osama Malik and Connor Chapman in their more natural positions. With the expected return of Michael Jakobsen this week, the question is still up in the air about what formation we will go with but to have that luxury is an important tool to have in the artillery.
Beware of the quiet achievers
They’ve been one of the quiet starters to the season but Brisbane will be coming into Friday night’s contest coming off two straight wins and full of momentum.
A strong performance at home last week saw the Roar defeat Perth thanks to goals from Socceroos marksman Jamie Maclaren and young gun Brandon Borello. The Glory, who gave us a hard time at AAMI Park in Round 3, lacked the physicality they showed against City to be overawed by John Aloisi’s side.
The Roar would be further up the table if it wasn’t for their uncharacteristic 4-0 loss to Newcastle in Round 2 but Brisbane have bounced back in style and look to have got their season on a steady course over the past two weeks.
The chase is on
After Sydney’s perfect start to the season, the chase is on to catch the league leaders before they create a gap at the top of the table.
It has been hard to fault the Sky Blues start to the season with eleven unanswered goals in their four wins but it must be noted that three of their four opponents have been outside of last season’s Finals Series.
Compare that to City who have only faced one opponent outside of last year’s top six and sit only three points away from Sydney. This weekend could be a chance for us to bridge the gap but the focus must remain on ourselves doing the job over in Brisbane.
Return of the Jack…and Timmy
A full week’s recovery has rejuvenated our squad as Michael Jakobsen and Tim Cahill look to return to the team for Friday night’s contest.
Competition for spots has hotted up once again with the performance of the side against Adelaide and there are no guarantees that the duo will walk back into the starting eleven. With Nicolas Colazo back on the track this week after continuing his recovery from ear surgery and Ivan Franjic putting his hat in the ring for a spot on the team sheet, the selections headaches continue to mount for John van’t Schip and we’re talking the good selection headaches.
Momentum is key
As we’ve found out in this league, bad habits are just as hard to shake as good habits and a win on Friday night could set us up for important back-to-back wins against strong opposition.
There is no doubt that Suncorp Stadium hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds but the air of confidence around the squad at the moment has shown we are happy to take on any opponent at any ground. With Newcastle next week at home then Western Sydney away after that, picking up points along the way will not only be important for our position in the league but our all-important form heading into the FFA Cup Final at the end of the month.
