Westfield FFA Cup preview
Sydney United 58 v Sydney FC
Venue: Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
KO: 7.30pm AEST
#SUvSYD
TV broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 3 and 3HD
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
This is what the Westfield FFA Cup is all about.
The NSW NPL club trying to bring down one the Hyundai A-League’s powerhouses and local rivals in Sydney’s west in arguably the tie of the round of 16.
United boss Mark Rudan, a championship winner with Sydney FC, aiming to take down the Sky Blues, whose coach Graham Arnold and assistant Zeljko Kalac both kick-started their careers at Edensor Park.
It’s not just the great sub-plots which make this an intriguing match-up.
United, NPL champions last year, will relish taking on Sydney’s professionals and warmed up for the match with a well-deserved 1-1 draw with Wellington Phoenix.
They have Hyundai A-League experience in former Phoenix man Mirjan Pavlovic, who scored a brace in the last round, as well as ex-Sky Blues Nathan Sherlock and Alec Urosevski.
Sydney have been one of the best-performed sides in pre-season, losing just once and – like United – played Phoenix in their last hit-out drawing 0-0.
That’s three straight clean sheets for the Sky Blues who are getting their defence right but with Corey Gameiro, Alex Brosque, Bernie Ibini and Mark Janko have loads of firepower too.
It should be a drama and action-packed 90 minutes – and possibly more – on what should be a cracking night of football in this fascinating Sydney derby.
