The clash
Despite early season results, Saturday’s clash with Wellington is set to be an intriguing contest as City looks to continue its perfect start to the season.
Two wins in the opening two matches has greeted new Head Coach Warren Joyce to the A-League and a win against Wellington will be the Club’s first trio of wins since early 2015.
The Nix have proven to be tough opposition despite their set backs in the opening rounds and those set backs continue this week with the injury to captain and key defender Andrew Durante.
The signs are pointing to a win for City in this one but expect the Nix to bring it to the home side, pushing Champions Sydney FC all the way last week in a gripping encounter.
Team News
City go from strength to strength this week with an unchanged squad from last week’s Derby. Osama Malik has been ruled fit for the contest after shaking his knock from last week while Neil Kilkenny and Luke Brattan are back in the mix for selection. See our full team news
Last time they met
It was a commanding performance from City in the last outing between the sides as they trounced the Nix 5-1 in February at Westpac Stadium.
A topsy-turvy start saw Thomas Sorensen called into action as a missed penalty from the hosts opened the door for City to march on.
Singles to Bruno Fornaroli, Neil Kilkenny, Anthony Caceres and Nicolas Colazo with a Shane Lowry own goal capped off the impressive win on City’s march to the Finals.
Stats and facts
- Melbourne City have won six of their last seven games against Wellington Phoenix, including each of their last four by a combined score of 11-2.
- Wellington Phoenix’s only previous win against City in Melbourne came in December 2013, picking up just two competition points in such fixtures since (D2, L3).
- Melbourne City have kept three clean sheets in their last four games on home soil, including their season opener this campaign.
- Melbourne City boast a passing accuracy of 71.8% on passes ending in the final third this season, better than any other team in the competition.
- Nick Fitzgerald has already notched three assists for season 2017/18, not only is this the joint-most of any player thus far, but it’s his joint-most ever in a single A-League campaign.
What was said
City Forward Nick Fitzgerald
“I’m not surprised [with the team’s positive start]. As a team we worked extremely hard during the off-season. We came back to pre-season and hit the ground running, worked extremely hard, came in on days off and did extra running, so I’m not surprised with our games. Having said that, it is only round 2 and we still have a lot of improvement.”
Wellington forward Andrija Kaulderovic.
“I see they [City] have won two games which shows us they are a good team this year, but we are not scared about anybody in this league and we will go there to try to win. We have to turn those positives into results. If it’s zero points and not getting the results then it doesn’t mean too much,”
Where and when
City face Wellington on Saturday afternoon at AAMI Park, kick-off 5.35pm. Make the most of our ‘Kids go FREE’ offer this Saturday. With every adult ticket and membership, you can claim up to two junior tickets for General Admission and City Blue areas. Click here to get your tickets!
