Perth Glory will take on ladder leaders Melbourne City in what is set to be the ‘Game of the Season’ at 5pm this Sunday at nib Stadium.
The match will see the Glory and City fiercely compete for full points, with both sides striving for a high finish come the end of the regular Hyundai A-League season. Glory are pushing hard for at least fourth position, which would guarantee the boys from the West a home match in the first week of finals, while City are chasing their first ever Premiers’ Plate.
The fixture between the two teams has always been an exciting one, with the past three clashes featuring 14 goals between the sides. It also sees Glory’s attacking talents Diego Castro and Andy Keogh face off against in-form Socceroo Aaron Mooy and A-League leading goal scorer Bruno Fornaroli.
Andy Keogh in particular will be the player in focus on the field; last weekend, his converted penalty against Newcastle Jets saw him draw level with Andy Harper, John Kosmina and Mark Janko for the National League record for most consecutive scoring games. If he scores in his 8th straight match tomorrow, the Irishman will hold the record outright. Keogh has never scored against Melbourne City in four A-League attempts.
Meanwhile his counter-part Bruno Fornaroli sent records tumbling last week after his brace against Wellington Phoenix. With 22 goals this season in just 25 matches, the Uruguayan has incredibly become City’s all-time top goal scorer and has scored the A-League’s most goals in a single season. Despite having an exceptional season so far, Fornaroli has never scored at nib Stadium; the only Australian Hyundai A-League stadium he’s failed to do so in.
Glory captain Richard Garcia believes the forward firepower at both clubs will make for an exciting game.
“I think there will be a lot of chances,” Garcia said.
“It will be a battle between attacks and defences which is always good to see, and it should be end-to-end.
“You’ve got to be mindful of their attack but we’re at home, we want to go out there and play the football we know we can play and get them on the back foot.”
“It should be a cracker.”
Socceroos Josh Risdon, Aaron Mooy and Alex Wilkinson return to the match day squads for both teams, while Glory defender Dino Djulbic will sit out with suspension after being sent off late against the Jets last round. Glory and City are also missing Ruben Zadkovich and Corey Gameiro to long term injuries.
Perth Glory v Melbourne City is set to be an absolute thriller at nib Stadium this Sunday evening. You can be there by getting your tickets here:
Match Details
Sunday, 3 April 2016
Perth Glory v Melbourne City FC
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 5:00 PM (Local) (7:00 PM AEST)
Referee: Shaun Evans
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Brown
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 4 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 720 ABC Perth, ABC Local Radio WA, Grandstand Digital*, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live.
*After NRL/AFL coverage
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvMCY
Squads
Perth Glory: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 21.Kosta PETRATOS, 23.Krisztian VADOCZ, 24.Jamal REINERS, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 13.Diogo FERREIRA (promoted), 19.Josh RISDON (returns from international duty), 21.Kosta PETRATOS (promoted)
Outs: 6.Dino DJULBIC (suspended – one match)
Unavailable: 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite)
Melbourne City FC: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (gk), 2.Alex WILKINSON, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Aaron MOOY, 9.Harry NOVILLO, 11.Michael ZULLO, 18.Paulo RETRE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Dean BOUZANIS (gk), 22.Jack CLISBY, 23.Bruno FORNAROLI, 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 25.Jacob MELLING, 26.Marc MARINO, 27.Nick FITZGERALD, 29.Anthony CACERES, 33.Osama MALIK
**two players to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Alex WILKINSON (return from international duty), 8.Aaron MOOY (return from international duty)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 7.Corey GAMEIRO (knee – season), 17.Wade DEKKER (ankle – season)
