Sydney FC - Adelaide United Preview

Both have designs on winning the Premier's Plate. making this a huge Round 24 A-League clash. Can Sydney FC translate their impeccable road form to their Allianz Stadium home? Or will Adelaide United put the absence of playmaker Marcelo Carrusca aside to secure a vital three points on Saturday night? MATCH DETAILS Saturday, 4 April 2015 Allianz Stadium, Sydney Kick-Off: 7.30pm (Local) 7.30pm AEDT) Squads Sydney FC 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Seb RYALL, 5.Matt JURMAN, 6.Nikola PETKOVIC, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 11.Bernie IBINI, 13.Christopher NAUMOFF, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 16.Alex GERSBACH, 17.Terry ANTONIS, 18.Peter TRIANTIS, 20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 21.Mark JANKO, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 26.Jacques FATY, 27.Mickael TAVARES, 29.George BLACKWOOD, 34.Robert STAMBOLZIEV ***two to be omitted*** Ins 17.Terry ANTONIS (return from injury), 21.Mark JANKO (return from international duty), 29.George BLACKWOOD (return from international duty) Outs 9.Shane SMELTZ (suspended – 2 matches) Unavailable 3.Sasa OGNENOVSKI (hip – indefinite), 7.Corey GAMEIRO (knee – indefinite), 19.Nick CARLE (knee – indefinite), 22.Ali ABBAS (knee – indefinite) Adelaide United 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (GK) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 5.Osama MALIK, 7.PABLO SÁNCHEZ, 8.ISAÍAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.Cameron WATSON, 15.Ben WARLAND, 16.Craig GOODWIN, 17.Awer MABIL, 18.Jimmy JEGGO, 19.Miguel PALANCA, 20.Paul IZZO (GK), 24.Bruce KAMAU, 32.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS ***two to be omitted*** Ins 15.Ben WARLAND (promoted), 17.Awer MABIL (returns from injury), 32.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (promoted) Outs 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA (quadricep – 2-3 weeks) Unavailable 21.Tarek ELRICH (suspended), 23.Jordan ELSEY (knee – indefinite), 30.John Hall (gk) (international duty) Hashtag #SYDvADL Broadcast coverage TV – Live and exclusive coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand) Radio – Online/ABC Radio Mobile phone app. Referee Chris Beath Assistant Referee 1 Ashley Beecham Assistant Referee 2 James Tesoriero Fourth Official Chris Young BLUFFER’S GUIDE A pivotal clash awaits these two sides on Easter Saturday. Win and take another step towards winning the Premier's Plate but lose and it's likely to put an end to those hopes. It should make for a titanic tussle between two sides who like to play open, attacking football. Sydney FC’s home form has been a concern this season, with all four of their defeats coming at Allianz Stadium (this is their last home match before the finals). One of the losses in front of their home fans came at the hands of Adelaide on Boxing Day when they suffered a 3-0 drubbing. While both will be without key players due to injury and suspension, there is still plenty of quality and firepower to make this a blockbuster clash with serious ramifications on final ladder position. Marquee man Marc Janko is back for the Sky Blues and is expected to start despite only arriving back in Australia a couple of days before the match. Janko has been in Europe with Austria, getting on the scoresheet for his nation. His return is timely with Shane Smeltz suspended. Terry Antonis returns from injury but is likely to come off the bench. The Reds have been dealt a blow in the form of playmaker Carrusca being ruled out for at least for next two games with a quad injury. Flyer Awer Mabil has been included in the squad after a long injury lay-off. OPTA DATA STATS - Sydney FC has won just one of their last seven home matches against Adelaide United (D1 L5). - The Sky Blues have been shown five red cards this season in the A-League, more than any other side, while Adelaide have seen their opponents receive four dismissals this season – no side has seen more. - The only team to keep more clean sheets this A-League season than Adelaide United (seven) is Sydney FC (eight). - Adelaide United has used an A-League-low 20 different players so far this season. ROUTE TO GOAL The Sky Blues proved they could get goals even without marquee man Janko, putting three past Wellington last weekend. But the Austrian's return is timely following the red card – and subsequent suspension – of Smeltz. But Sydney has found it hard to break Adelaide’s defence down, without a goal in either two of their previous clashes this season. There's no doubt the Reds' attack has been dealt a blow with the injury to Carrusca. Without the Argentine playmaker, little Spaniard Sergio Cirio looms as Adelaide's chief creator, with the pacy winger leading the way for the Reds this season when it comes to assists, shots and chances created.