Sydney FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers
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Well, isn’t this a fun derby? I’d not hesitate in stating that WSW are the better team nowadays but Sydney FC finally got rid of Corica recently, who has been dragging the team down ever since he took over. The appointment of Talay was incredibly astute of them, especially given their newfound penchant for relying on younger players (aka not spending). I respect him enormously, and I believe he can make Sydney FC into a very good team again. That, fused with WSW blowing hot and cold this season makes me not want to touch the 1×2 market with a bargepole.
I do fancy goals though. One thing that was clear from Sydney FC’s trip to Adelaide was that Talay wants them to work harder, which is logical enough. 5-1 flattered them a bit but their performance was really convincing, and they did deserve to win overall. They conceded a lot of chances though, which The Reds didn’t capitalise upon. I find it hard to imagine that WSW would be as charitable when it comes to facing a defence containing a midfielder (Girdwood-Reich) alongside a new defender.
Still, Sydney FC look livelier, and there’s no denying that they’re a very capable team. Lolley and Mak are amongst the best wide players in the A-League, and they’ve got a phenomenal playmaker or two in Brattan and Caceres. They’ll create chances and score goals in most games if shepherded right, and Talay did a superb job of such with Wellington Phoenix last season. Therefore, I have to believe that whether it’s Gomes, Kucharski, or Wood, they’ll find ways to score goals.
That said, Sydney FC don’t have anywhere near enough legs in midfield. Talay might make them work harder but they’re going to leave themselves open playing that way, and again, I can’t see WSW letting them off with that, especially not with Borrello, Milanovic, Pierias, and Brook ready to unleash on the break. Antonsson needs to step it up just a tad but other than that, WSW look set to score goals – when afforded the space.
There’s a common theme with WSW this season, actually – with space, they’re dynamite. Without it, they’re a bit too predictable. If Sydney FC parked the bus against them then I’d fear for the visitors here. They’re the better team but proving it is another matter. However, given Talay’s somewhat open approach, I expect the visitors to get more space than they typically do, and that should lead to plenty of chances for them.
WSW haven’t had good news defensively though. Clisby has been cleared to play after picking up a knock during the international break, which does help, but right-back could be a problem. Cleur is still out, Russell is still carrying a knock, and there are conflicting reports about the availability of Simmons, which could leave them without a right-back. I also don’t believe that Rudan is especially settled on a regular defensive partner for Marcelo, which again makes them vulnerable.
Both teams have some way to go before I trust them both but given where they’re at right now, backing goals in this derby makes sense to me.
Verdict: Over 3 Asian goals at 9/10.
Saturday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
UEFA Europa Conference League:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Zorya Lugansk
Australian A-League:
Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne City
Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets
Sydney FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Austrian Bundesliga:
Salzburg vs TSV Hartberg
LASK vs WSG Tirol
Sturm Graz vs Austria Lustenau
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Cercle Brugge vs AS Eupen
Sporting Charleroi vs Westerlo
Standard de Liege vs Racing Gen
Brazilian Serie A:
Athletico Paranaense vs Vasco da Gama
Fluminense vs Coritiba
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Botev Plovdiv vs Pirin Blagoevgrad
CSKA Sofia vs Etar
Croatian Prva Liga:
Varazdin vs Rijeka
Dinamo Zagreb vs NK Osijek
Czechia Liga 1:
Hradec Kralove vs Viktoria Plzen
Teplice vs Bohemians 1905
Karvina vs Sigma Olomouc
Slovan Liberec vs Mlada Boleslav
Slavia Prague vs Ceske Budejovice
Danish Superligaen:
Viborg vs FC Copenhagen
English Premier League:
Manchester City vs Liverpool
Burnley vs West Ham United
Luton Town vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Nottingham Forest vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Sheffield United vs Bournemouth
Brentford vs Arsenal
French Ligue 1:
Clermont Foot 38 vs Racing Club Lens
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Olympique de Marseille
German Bundesliga:
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Union Berlin vs Augsburg
SC Freiburg vs Darmstadt 98
VfL Wolfsburg vs RB Leipzig
Werder Bremen vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart
German Bundesliga 2:
Hansa Rostock vs St. Pauli
Elversberg vs Paderborn 07
VfL Osnabruck vs Magdeburg
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Schalke 04
Hungarian Liga 1:
Varda SE vs MTK Budapest
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Debreceni VSC
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Ujpest
Italian Serie A:
Salernitana vs SS Lazio
Atalanta Bergamo vs SSC Napoli
Milan vs ACF Fiorentina
Italian Serie B:
Bari vs Venezia
Cittadella vs Sudtirol
Como vs FeralpiSalo
Cremonese vs Lecco
Parma vs Modena
Reggiana vs Ascoli
Pisa vs Brescia
Dutch Eredivisie:
Excelsior Rotterdam vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
FC Twente Enschede vs PSV Eindhoven
SC Heerenveen vs Fortuna Sittard
PEC Zwolle vs RKC Waalwijk
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Vitesse Arnhem
Spanish Primera Liga:
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Barcelona
Valencia vs Celta de Vigo
Getafe vs Almeria
Atletico Madrid vs Real Mallorca
Swiss Super League:
Luzern vs FC Winterthur
FC Zurich vs Young Boys Bern
Yverdon-Sport vs Lugano
Turkish Super Lig:
Istanbulspor vs Hatayspor
Gaziantep vs Ankaragucu
Konyaspor vs Kasimpasa
Galatasaray vs Alanyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!