The clash
Melbourne City FC will look to bounce back when they travel to Western Australia to play Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday night.
Following a dominant performance against Sydney FC in Round 2, City suffered a disappointing blow, going down 2-0 to cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park in Round 3.
Despite controlling possession, the reigning champions conceded a first-half own goal to go into the break 1-0 down, before Matildas international Emily Gielnik sealed the win for Melbourne Victory in the second-half.
City will be eager to return to winning ways in Perth, but it won’t be easy, as they come up against the second-placed Glory.
With one win and two draws from the opening three fixtures, Perth enter the match undefeated and full of confidence following a 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Western Sydney had seven more shots than Perth (20 shots), but were unable to find the back of the net. Despite having less chances in front of goal, the Glory proved to be far too clinical with three brilliant individual efforts – two coming off the boot of attacker Rachel Hill and the other off Sam Kerr’s.
With an abundance of attacking firepower set to go head-to-head, Sunday night’s clash is set to be a cracker.
Team News
City will be boosted by three key inclusions, in Kyah Simon, Chelsea Blissett and Helen Caceres. Full team news here.
Last time they met
The last time the two teams met was in Round 10 last season at the City Football Academy, where the home side ran out 3-0 winners.
A first-half blitz saw Ashley Hatch, Tyla-Jay Vlajnic and Yukari Kinga all find the back of the net within the first 45 minutes of play.
What was said
Head Coach Rado Vidosic
“It will be a great challenge against Perth, but I’m confident our team will be up for it and put in a great fight.
“It’s going to be a tough match, we’ll still be missing Stotty on international duty but we will try to control the game with the ball and limit the amount of time Perth have the ball.”
Where and when
City play Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday 25 November, kick-off 9:45pm (AEDT), before returning to Melbourne to host Adelaide United at C.B. Smith Reserve on Saturday 1 December, kick-off 7:30pm (AEDT).
