PREVIEW: Sydney Derby to go down to the wire

This weekend’s Sydney Derby is only the fourth meeting between the sides but already the clash is one of the most anticipated on the Hyundai A-League calendar.

The Red and Black Bloc will be in force despite the first Derby being an away match.

Whilst the rivalry is barely over a year old, the east-v-west mentality that is ingrained into the psyche of most Sydneysiders means that it is certainly very genuine. A sell-out crowd is expected at Allianz Stadium which will easily surpass the previous best of 35,419 for a regular season fixture played in Sydney.

The contest in the stands promises to be just as captivating as the one on the pitch. Despite the match being played at Sydney’s home turf, the crowd will be fairly evenly split between two of the loudest, most passionate supporter groups in the league — Sydney’s ‘Cove’ and the Wanderers ‘Red and Black Bloc’.

Adding to the spice is the fact that the Wanderers squad (and truth be told, a lot of their supporter base) is littered with ex-Sydney FC personnel with captain Michael Beauchamp, Mark Bridge, Shannon Cole, Brendon Santalab, Nikolai Topor-Stanley and even coach Tony Popovic wearing the Sky Blue of their cross-town rivals at one point in their career.

The record between the two sides currently stands at a win apiece with a 1-1 draw in the penultimate round of last season ending Western Sydney Wanderers’ league record ten match winning streak.

Alessandro Del Piero, who scored the opening goal for Sydney FC that day (and in fact, is the only Sydney player to have scored against the Wanderers), is expected to miss the clash with a calf injury.

This news could not have come at a worse time for the Sky Blues who are still reeling from a dismal 4-0 loss to the Brisbane Roar last weekend — a performance that was described by coach Frank Farina as ‘the most inept’ he has overseen in his time as manager of Sydney FC. Without their Italian talisman Sydney will be turning to former Socceroo Richard Garcia and his young strike partner Joel Chianese to provide the impetus up front.

Western Sydney will also be looking for an improved showing this week after being held to their second consecutive 1-1 draw to open the season by Wellington Phoenix. Last season’s Premiers still boast one of the most impressive squads in the league and will certainly be there-or-thereabouts come the end of the season.

Derbies are often cagey, defensive affairs and this will play into the hands of both sides — Wanderers had great success last season with a game that focused on a solid defense first and foremost, and then hitting teams on the counter-attack; whilst Sydney FC will try to take the pace out of the game and scrap their way to the three points.

It’s hard to choose a clear winner with any real confidence — the Wanderers are certainly the better team but playing at home Sydney will certainly be expecting to fare better than they did last week. With Sydney’s key man out, Wanderers struggling to gel in attack and the aforementioned ‘Derby factor’, the value bet with our friends Luxbet looks to be the under 2.5 goals at $1.95.