The clash
Melbourne City will be looking to book a place in the Hyundai A-League Grand Final for the first time in the Club’s history when it takes on Western United in Wednesday night’s Semi Final at Bankwest Stadium.
Western United will also to be hoping to make its first Grand Final, with this of course being the club’s first season in the league.
In his first season at the helm, Head Coach Erick Mombaerts will be hoping his team will be able to take the momentum from its great season into the finals campaign.
City ended the season second on the table, its highest ever finish in Club history. Wednesday’s opponent Western United also had a solid season and have been in great form since the season re-start.
Western United has lost just twice in seven matches, going down to Newcastle and City. City have played only three matches since the re-start, winning twice and drawing once.
Western United finished fifth on the table and took down the fourth placed Brisbane Roar in an elimination final on Sunday. Captain Alessandro Diamanti scored the only goal in the clash, finding the back of the net from a free kick.
Jamie Maclaren secured the A-League Golden Boot in City’s last game of the season, scoring a double to finish the season on 22 goals, as City secured a clean sweep of three wins over this Wednesday’s opponents, Western United. He scored four times in City’s three games since the season resumption and will be hoping to carry that form into the Finals Series.
Last time they met
You don’t have to cast your memory too far back to remember the last fixture between these two teams. It was just a week ago, with City coming out on top 3-1. Moudi Najjar scored his first A-League goal to open scoring in the 12th minute. Jamie Maclaren scored a second half brace, with a Besart Berisha penalty coming between the two goals.
City created plenty of chances, having 21 shots to Western United’s seven (8-3 on target). City had the slight edge on possession but controlled the match relatively comfortably.
Tom Glover had a pretty quiet night in goal for City, with the midfield and defence getting the job done in front of him for the most part.
Team news
Head Coach Erick Mombaerts will have close to a full squad to select from with Captain Scott Jamieson the only unavailable player, as he remains in Melbourne after the birth of his first child.
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Tom GLOVER (gk), 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Harrison DELBRIDGE, 6.Josh BRILLANTE, 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Florin BERENGUER, 11.Craig NOONE, 13.Nathaniel ATKINSON, 19.Lachlan WALES, 20.Adrian LUNA, 21.Ramy NAJJARINE, 22.Curtis GOOD, 30.Moudi NAJJAR, 34.Connor METCALFE, 35.Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 39.Idrus ABDULAHI, 40.Richard WINDBICHLER, 46.Joe GAUCI, 49.Stefan COLAKOVSKI
2-4 to be omitted
Ins: 10.Florin BERENGUER (returns from injury), 11.Craig NOONE (returns from suspension)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 3.Scott JAMIESON (personal leave)
How to watch
City LIVE, presented by McDonald’s is back for the semi-final, and you can join David Davutovic and Thomas Sorensen from 4:30pm on Wednesday afternoon to preview all of the action. They will then be back at half time and full time to discuss and dissect all of the big talking points.
You can watch the match live at 5:00pm on FOX Sports, Kayo Sports, or the MyFootball Live app.
What’s next
The winner of this match will get itself a place in Sunday’s Hyundai A-League Grand Final, facing the winner of the other Semi Final between Sydney FC and Perth Glory. The Grand Final will kick off at 6:30pm at Bankwest Stadium.
