Two of the Westfield W-League’s top midfielders will be going head-to-head on Sunday evening when Melbourne City FC hosts Brisbane Roar.
Both City’s Alex Chidiac and Brisbane’s Tameka Yallop are no stranger to the Matildas set-up with the 29-year-old Brisbane midfielder having made 43 appearances and Chidiac having made 16 at the age of 22.
Although they are integral parts of their team’s midfield, both players have missed a couple of their squads first five fixtures this season.
Chidiac watched City’s first two fixtures from hotel quarantine while Yallop missed a little bit of time with a groin injury which she has now recovered from.
Yallop has started all three of her matches this season and Chidiac came off the bench for her first appearance before starting her next two games, so has played a total of 32 less minutes this season.
The recently returned City midfielder has had the ball at her feet a little more often and distributed it slightly better than her Brisbane opponent.
Chidiac averages 33.8 passes per 90 minutes with a 82.1% success rate, while Yallop averages 28.5 passes per 90 minutes and finds a teammate 77.6% of the time.
Yallop has made five key passes this season but is yet to record an assist, unlike Chidiac who assisted in City’s derby win despite only making one other key pass this season.
Hoping for another big game tonight from @alexchidiac10! 🔥#CmonCity pic.twitter.com/2QGNsk6yUj
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) January 21, 2021
The Roar midfielder has gotten forward more, taking a total of 13 shots – including a goal from her four that were on target. Chidiac has only taken three shots but two were on target, including her goal against Victory.
