Our run of away fixtures continues this Friday night as your City boys look to make it back-to-back A-League wins for the first time this season.
The squad departed for Perth on Thursday morning ahead of our clash with Glory, which concludes the run of four consecutive away games.
Here are a few of the key factors that will shape Friday’s result!
Can Leckie start?
After over two months on the sidelines, we’ve recently seen the return of Socceroos winger, Mathew Leckie.
He returned as a 76th-minute substitute against Ventforet Kofu last Wednesday night, before seeing close to 40 minutes of action in Sunday’s win against Newcastle.
Speaking midweek prior to the team’s trip to Perth, Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar said Leckie had recovered well and would be in the mix for a start on Friday night.
While Leckie would be welcomed back with open arms, it would create a big selection headache for Vidmar.
Also back fit this week is Leo Natel after the Brazillian winger missed our last fixture due to illness.
Marin Jakolis has been in strong form – voted by City fans our November Player of the Month – and has proven he’s capable of playing on either wing.
18-year-old Academy product, Ben Mazzeo, came into the line-up against Newcastle and couldn’t have done much more to press his case to keep the spot, scoring inside the first 12 minutes of his first senior start.
Whether it’s Mazzeo, Natel or Leckie who gets the starting nod, there will certainly be plenty of firepower on the bench for Vidmar to call upon if needed.
Continuing our goalscoring form
After being held goalless against Wellington Phoenix in the first of our three away games, we had our shooting boots back on for the next two fixtures.
The pleasing thing for Vidmar would’ve been the five goals scored across those two games were all from different scorers, showcasing there are plenty of avenues to goal.
Callum Talbot’s opener in Tokyo was a moment of individual brilliance, while it was a similar story with a perfect Leo Natel cross setting up Marin Jakolis’ thundering half-volley.
Mazzeo and Jamie Maclaren’s goals against Newcastle both came after some great team play in the buildup, while Tolgay Arslan scored his sixth City goal with a spot-kick in Tokyo.
With Perth entering Friday night off the back of three straight losses where it has conceded at least two in each game, Vidmar will be looking to see his team continue the hot goalscoring form on the way to another three points this Friday.
Going into our home run on a high
There’s no doubt it’s been a tough last few weeks for City after not being able to play at our usual home of AAMI Park.
While it hasn’t been a perfect road trip, a point in Tokyo and a win in Newcastle have us trending upward after a disappointing first result against Wellington.
The benefit of having such a long run of away games is of course plenty of home games ahead.
Following Friday night, our next five games will all be played in Melbourne – including the next four being home fixtures.
Historically we’ve been strong performers at home and this run will give us a great chance to build some momentum and climb up the table, so a win in Perth would be massive to ensure we are going into that run in the best form possible.
Fixture Details
A-League Men’s: Round 7
Perth Glory v Melbourne City FC
Friday 8 December, 9:45pm (AEDT)
Watch live on Paramount+
