Date: Sunday 19 February 2012
Kick-off: 7.00pm AEDT, 6.30pm local
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium
Head-to-head
Played: 22 Wins: Adelaide 9, Sydney 10, Draws: 3
History:
This is one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in the A-League, which kicked off way back in the competition's inaugural season when the Reds and Sky Blues were tussling for top-of-the-table supremacy. Since then, with derbies in Melbourne, regional NSW and south-east Queensland - on top of the increasingly bitter relationship between Sydney and Melbourne Victory - it's taken something of a back seat in recent times. But the 'original rivalry', as some fans have dubbed it, is still warmly anticipated. This year, Adelaide have failed to beat Sydney FC in two attempts - in their first meeting they dropped the match 2-1 at home, and more recently they fought out a 2-2 stalemate in John Kosmina's first match in charge of the Reds after the sacking of Rini Coolen.
Form:
Past five matches:
Adelaide: DLLWW
Sydney: DWDLW
Summary of form:
With a win over Persipura Jayapura in Thursday night's Asian Champions League qualifier, Adelaide have built themselves a little bit of momentum in the past week or so. United were simply too good for the Indonesian outfit, who were tired and jetlagged after arriving in the city of churches barely 24 hours before kick-off. The South Australians now won two on the trot, after their 2-1 triumph over struggling Gold Coast United on the weekend, but they cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal for one moment - or else the prospect of finals football will fade away.
Sydney have continued the maddening inconsistency that has plagued them all season. In their most recent outing, they were surprising victors over Perth - surprising not only because the Glory have been in stunning form in their march up the table, but because the Sky Blues themselves were simply tossed aside by Newcastle at home just a few days prior.
Match Committee:
Adelaide can call upon the services of Uruguayan midfield holder Pancho Usucar for this match. He played no part in Thursday's qualifier because the Reds were only allowed to field three foreigners, but expect him to play a major role on Sunday given the three-day gap between fixtures and the impact that is likely to have on the fitness of the squad. Already, Adelaide are without Olyroos pair Antony Golec and Daniel Mullen, injured trio Paul Izzo (back), Spase Dilevski (groin) and Jon McKain (knee), while Milan Susak is no longer with the club.
Sydney captain Terry McFlynn will return alongside Jamie Coyne and Juho Makela for this match. They only have one player, Dimi Petratos, who is overseas with the Olyroos, while their only injured players are Seb Ryall, Terry Antonis (both hamstring) and Mark Bridge (ankle).
Danger men:
Nigel Boogaard - With so many defenders unavailable for selection at Hindmarsh, plenty of responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the former Mariners centre-half. But he's stepped up his game in recent weeks, with his unorthodox partnership with makeshift stopper Evgieny Levchenko filling in the gap. The Reds have conceded just once - an unfortunate but unavoidable own goal, off Boogaard himself - in their wins over GCU and Persipura.
Brett Emerton - Many have expected a greater output this season from Sydney's big-money marquee man, but against Perth he