Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory – (Sun 5:00pm)
Sydney FC’s Historic Season
It has been the most dominant season from any team in the history of the A-League and Sydney FC are poised to cap it off by claiming the clubs 3rd A-League Championship. The Sky Blues set all sorts of records… They finished 17 points clear of second place (largest margin ever), won the Premier’s Plate with a month remaining in the regular season, maintained a record 16 clean sheets, conceded the fewest goals in a season (12), had the best goal difference ever (+43), scored the most away goals in a season (30) and posted a record 20 wins which resulted in a record tally of 66 points.
It has been the most dominant season from any team in the history of the A-League and Sydney FC are poised to cap it off by claiming the clubs 3rd A-League Championship. The Sky Blues set all sorts of records… They finished 17 points clear of second place (largest margin ever), won the Premier’s Plate with a month remaining in the regular season, maintained a record 16 clean sheets, conceded the fewest goals in a season (12), had the best goal difference ever (+43), scored the most away goals in a season (30) and posted a record 20 wins which resulted in a record tally of 66 points.
There is a harsh reality to all of this though… In a competition that has a finals format the only team that will be remembered is the one that wins on Sunday meaning all of the pressure will be on Sydney.
It has been a tough road for the inaugural winners who haven’t claimed the A-League title since 2010. They made one Grand Final since then, back in 2015, only to fall short to their bitter rivals the Melbourne Victory. This time they head into the Grand Final as hot favourites and with a run of 15 games unbeaten in the league at home, a sold out Allianz Stadium will be rocking.
Previous Meetings
The sides met three times this season and it was Sydney that came out on top in all three matches – the first ever clean sweep of the Big Blue Derby. Their most recent encounter in March virtually sealed the Premier’s Plate and the 1-0 scoreline didn’t reflect just how dominant the Sky Blues were. In the other two meetings Sydney were able to come from a goal down to win 2-1 on both occasions. David Carney scored a memorable brace off the bench in Sydney with Holosko and Ibini providing the goals for the win on Australia Day in Melbourne.
The sides met three times this season and it was Sydney that came out on top in all three matches – the first ever clean sweep of the Big Blue Derby. Their most recent encounter in March virtually sealed the Premier’s Plate and the 1-0 scoreline didn’t reflect just how dominant the Sky Blues were. In the other two meetings Sydney were able to come from a goal down to win 2-1 on both occasions. David Carney scored a memorable brace off the bench in Sydney with Holosko and Ibini providing the goals for the win on Australia Day in Melbourne.
Stats That Matter
Sydney’s home record this season has been quite astonishing. They have gone 14 games without defeat and conceded just 1 goal in their last 9 matches at Allianz. Melbourne on the other hand have been very inconsistent – especially on the road. They have won just 2 of their last 5 matches and both of those victories have come via a 1-0 scoreline. Their recent road record reads even worse with only 1 win in their last 7 away games. We are used to seeing Melbourne find the back of the net at will but they have scored just 2 goals in their last 5 games with Berisha providing the winner on both occasions.
Sydney’s home record this season has been quite astonishing. They have gone 14 games without defeat and conceded just 1 goal in their last 9 matches at Allianz. Melbourne on the other hand have been very inconsistent – especially on the road. They have won just 2 of their last 5 matches and both of those victories have come via a 1-0 scoreline. Their recent road record reads even worse with only 1 win in their last 7 away games. We are used to seeing Melbourne find the back of the net at will but they have scored just 2 goals in their last 5 games with Berisha providing the winner on both occasions.
There has been an average of just 2 goals per game in the last 5 meetings with neither team able to win by more than a single goal in that stretch. Berisha finished equal top with Maclaren on the goalscorers chart with 20 goals while Bobo was Sydney’s top scorer with 15. Johnny Warren medalist Milos Nikovic and Rojas led the league in assists with 11 while Brilliante, O’Neill and Broxham were among the leaders in interceptions – each making in excess of 60 throughout the season.
Sydney maintained a record 16 clean sheets compared to 9 for the Victory. The Sky Blues conceded 12 goals, 19 less that their counterparts. More specifically Sydney’s defence was breached just 4 times in their 14 games at home. Melbourne have failed to score in 5 of their last 7 away games while Sydney are averaging 2 goals per game at home this season. If we are going off statsalone there can only be one winner – Sydney.
Recommended Bets
Best Bet: Under 2.5 goals ($2.15)
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