The clash
Melbourne City FC will kick off it’s 2020/21 A-League season on Tuesday night when it takes on Brisbane Roar at Dolphin Stadium.
City will be looking to go one better this season and kick off its campaign with a win after making it to last seasons Grand Final.
City has been in pre-season training since early October and will finally begin its season after going through its five pre-season matches undefeated.
After the departure of Erick Mombaerts, Patrick Kisnorbo has now taken charge as Head Coach and will be hoping to see his team display the same intensity as it did in pre-season.
There are a number of new faces who City fans will get to see in action for the first time, with Socceroos winger Andrew Nabbout and Olyroos midfielder Aiden O’Neill both joining the Club.
Nabbout will form a deadly front three with Socceroos teammate Jamie Maclaren and Craig Noone, with all three in good form after having found the back of the net in pre-season.
Maclaren scored six goals across City’s give pre-season outings, already showcasing the form that won him his second A-League golden boot last season.
Defender Ben Garuccio who played 45 games for City from 2012-16 has also returned to the Club after spending his last few seasons at Scottish club Heart of Midlothian.
Tom Glover will remain City’s number one keeper and there will be a strong sense of familiarity in the City defence with a likely centre back partnership of Curtis Good and Rostyn Griffiths as well as captain Scott Jamieson at right back.
Last time they met
We last met in Round 21 of the 2019/20 A-League season when we scored a 1-0 win at home. A Josh Brillante rocket from outside the box found its way into the back of the net in the 55th minute – although it was credited as a Roar own goal after deflecting off the post and Brisbane keeper Jamie Young.
Team news
Our squad is in for our season opener! Nathaniel Atkinson is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury but Kisnorbo will have a full squad to pick from otherwise.
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Tom GLOVER (gk), 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 3.Scott JAMIESON (c), 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 8.Aiden O’NEILL, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Florin BERENGUER-BOHRER, 11.Craig NOONE, 14.Naoki TSUBAKI, 15.Andrew NABBOUT, 16.Taras GOMULKA, 17.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 18.Connor METCALFE, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Adrian LUNA, 22.Curtis GOOD, 23.Marco TILIO, 33.Matthew SUTTON (gk), 36.Kerrin STOKES, 42. Ahmad TALEB
**2-4 to be omitted**
Unavailable: 13.Nathaniel ATKINSON (hamstring)
What was said
“We’ve had a long pre-season and it’s been a very good one and now we are just excited to get things underway. We’ve waiting a long time but the feeling around the Club now is that we just can’t wait for the season to start.”
– Patrick Kisnorbo
How to watch
Tuesday’s match will kick off at 7.05pm and will be live on Fox Sports. It also will be streamed on Kayo and the MyFootball Live app.
Match details
A-League Round 1
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne City FC
Dolphin Stadium
Kick-off 7.05pm
