5 hours Ago By Vince Rugari
So, there you have it. The big news: despite coach Ufuk Talay playing down his chances, Sydney FC’s marquee man Douglas Costa is starting tonight’s match along with Joe Lolley. We’d say they’re back at full strength except for the presence of Anas Ouahim on the bench; Adrian Segecic has taken his place in the XI.
Returning Socceroos Anthony Caceres and Rhyan Grant come straight back into the team, but the newly-capped Hayden Matthews is of course suspeded. For the Wanderers, there’s no Josh Brillante, who suffered a training ground injury this week. And there’s no Juan Mata, who is again on the bench, as he was for the last derby.
Peculiar stuff. If you’re not across the how and why, have a read of this . But: there is Lawrence Thomas! He makes his first start of the season, while Socceroo Brandon Borrello is also up top as always.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight’s Sydney A-League Men’s derby at Allianz Stadium. Yes, it’s the second derby already, and it’s only round five. Long story.
Don’t ask. Just enjoy. I’m Vince Rugari , and I’ve been holed up here in the press box at Allianz for the last couple of hours watching Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar go at it - that’s because this weekend is Unite Round, the beautiful game’s answer to Magic Round and Gather Round.
The men’s action is here, the women’s stuff is all at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium - because the pitch at Leichhardt Oval was horrific; that’s another long story - and I wish there were two of me. If you recall, the only reason why this is happening is because this was the only way the Australian Professional Leagues could get out of their disastrous grand final hosting rights agreement with Destination NSW without losing about $15 million. So think of it as a necessary evil.
Team news coming up in a second, as well as a bit of a wrap on the games we’ve seen thus far..
