The Wanderers play in the final Sydney Derby of the regular season this Saturday in what is a crucial match for their Finals hopes.
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The Wanderers will be desperate to reclaim bragging rights after just falling short in the first two Derby meetings this season, and they would move level on points with their crosstown rivals with a victory at Allianz Stadium.
The Wanderers do come into the match with momentum after an important 1-0 win over Brisbane last weekend on the road.
A strong first half laid the platform for victory, with Bozhidar Kraev scoring his fourth goal of the season from a Juan Mata corner to secure the three points for Alen Stajcic’s side.
In truth they could have had more than one goal in the first half, with Brandon Borrello and Zac Sapsford being denied by good saves from Macklin Freke, and they also had two goals disallowed in either half.
Luckily it didn’t impact the result, as the Wanderers’ defence held firm for a confidence boosting clean sheet.
Captain Lawrence Thomas made a couple of important saves, which continued his fine form after several important stops the week before, whilst Alex Bonetig also had one of his best games of the season at centre back.
They will both be important to the Wanderers’ efforts this weekend against a confident attacking side who just defeated second placed Adelaide United 4-1 at home.
Crucially, the Wanderers are also getting key players back, as Gabriel Cleur and Brandon Borrello made their return from injuries against Brisbane, with Cleur’s return in particular being pivotal to a defence that has been impacted by player availability issues.
Unfortunately, Juan Mata did pick up a hamstring injury against Brisbane and had to go off in the early stages of the match, but it is hoped the injury isn’t a serious one.
It should be a free flowing affair with both teams having good attacking records. The opponents this weekend favour playing with a high line, and the likes of Borrello, Sapsford and
Nicolas Milanovic will look to expose this to full effect on Saturday night.
Sapsford in particular has become a Derby specialist in recent times, scoring three goals in the last five Derby games, a stunning return for the player coming up against his old club.
Borrello, who has five goals and five assists this season, will be looking to get his first ever goal in the Derby, and his energy will be important for the Wanderers’ pressing.
They may fancy themselves against a defence that has lost arguably its strongest player in Hayden Matthews, who recently moved to EFL Championship side Blackburn.
Our crosstown rivals have signed former Perth centre back Alex Grant, and have also boosted their attacking options with the signing of former Wanderers forward Jaushua Sotirio.
The home side for this weekend’s clash had previously been on a three match winless run before their surprise win over Adelaide, and this included a shock loss at home to bottom side Brisbane.
There can be no mistaking Ufuk Talay’s side can be very good on their day, and the Wanderers will have to be at their best to get a crucial Derby win.
They will hope to be backed by a big contingent of travelling fans who will no doubt make a whole lot of noise in the away end at Moore Park, and the Red and Black will hope to be singing long into the night after yet another win at Allianz Stadium.
