Loading...

Match Preview: City v Wanderers

Western Sydney Wanderers travel to face Melbourne City on Friday for an A-League Men clash at AAMI Park.

Melbourne City are atop the table on 52 points, 10 points clear of Adelaide United through 25 matches. Melbourne City won their last A-League Men match 3-1 at AAMI Park against Western United, extending their undefeated run to seven (W4 D3 L0).

Western Sydney Wanderers defeated Wellington Phoenix 4-0 at home in their last A-League Men match to extend their unbeaten streak to three (W2 D1 L0), putting them in fourth place on 41 points.

The last A-League Men meeting between the teams, a January match at CommBank Stadium, ended in a 1-1 draw. Brandon Borrello scored the Wanderers’ lone goal in the 19th minute. Richard van der Venne scored the only goal for City in the 58th minute.

Melbourne City have got the better of Wanderers of late, unbeaten in their last seven A-League Men matches (W4 D3 L0). Wanderers are looking for their first league win in encounters between the two sides since March 2019. City have outscored the Wanderers 17-9 during their unbeaten streak.

Jamie Maclaren has been irreplaceable for Melbourne City this season. He is the side’s leading scorer with 23 goals, which is the most in the league, 10 of those having been the critical first of the match.

Borrello has been the most prolific player for Wanderers, scoring on 12 occasions, including six match-opening goals. The striker is tied for fourth in the league’s scoring charts in 2022/2023.

In their last six league matches, Melbourne City have won three and drawn three. Wanderers, meanwhile, have won three, drawn one and lost two in their last six.