Defending Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Champions Melbourne City take on NPL Victoria's South Melbourne in one of this year’s most highly anticipated FFA Cup Round of 32 matches at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night.
South Melbourne, who reached the FFA Cup Semi Finals in 2017, qualified for the national rounds courtesy of penalty shoot-out victories over Oakleigh Cannons and Melbourne Knights, as well as wins over Eastern Lions and Werribee City.
However, Esteban Quintas’ side sat ninth in the NPL Victoria standings when the competition was abandoned as a result of the COVID-enforced lockdown after 18 rounds of action.
Former Newcastle Jets forward Harrison Sawyer along with centre back Marco Jankovic top-scored for South this season, netting four goals each.
South have signed Spanish shot-stopper Javier Diaz Lopez from Bentleigh Greens ahead of Friday’s match but will be without attacking midfielder Henry Hore, who signed for Brisbane Roar in September.
Friday’s match will be City’s first competitive hit out of the 2021/22 season after completing an undefeated pre-season with a 3-1 win over Western United thanks to strikes from Stefan Colakovski, Jamie Maclaren and an own goal last Friday.
After being crowned Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Champions for the first time, City have made several impressive additions to their squad including Socceroo Mathew Leckie, and Italian forward Manuel Pucciarelli.
However, the Socceroos trio of Leckie, Jamie Maclaren & Andrew Nabbout have all been called up for the national team's upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and China PR.
It provides a slight headache for Melbourne City Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo, who will come up against his former club on Friday night. The City boss made 67 National Soccer League appearance for South, claiming the National League title in 2000/01 at Lakeside Stadium.
City, who were defeated by Adelaide United in the last FFA Cup Final back in 2019, have won the tournament once, being crowned Winners in 2016.
You can catch all the action from Friday’s match live and free via 10 Play.
South Melbourne vs Melbourne City
Date: Friday, 12 October 2021, 7:30pm AEDT
Venue: Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park
Broadcast: Live & fee via 10 Play
Tickets: Buy here
International viewers can stream the game via our official YouTube channel.
