Round 27 is here as City take on Perth Glory on Easter Sunday night. See all the points, stats and quotes ahead of the encounter.
The clash
Melbourne City will look to tie up the all-important third spot on the A-League ladder on Sunday as they take on Perth Glory.
After Friday’s win against Adelaide, Michael Valkanis’ side will look to continue their winning momentum heading into the first week of the Finals Series.
In their way stands a Perth Glory side who have had a form revival of their own, dismantling fellow finals foes Brisbane Roar last week at home and will look to continue that form with a big result in their favour securing an unlikely home final for them.
In what could be a precursor to the Elimination Final next week, City will look to take a positive outlook to the Finals Series with back-to-back wins in the league.
Team News
City return to an almost full complement with the return of Ruon Tongyik from illness. See our full team news.
The last time
It was a six-goal thriller in December that saw the sides share the spoils in a contest that City lead three times at AAMI Park.
The end-to-end match saw Tim Cahill and a Bruno Fornaroli double cancelled out by Diego Castro’s brace and Chris Harold which left City stunned despite dominating much of the play.
Stats and facts
- There have been 32 goals scored in the last seven games between the Glory and Melbourne City; only once in that span has either team kept a clean sheet.
- Perth Glory have won just one of their last nine games on a Sunday, with their last such win coming in Round 2 this season against Wellington Phoenix.
- Melbourne City have scored a league-high eight headed goals so far this season, thanks largely to Tim Cahill (6).
- City have the highest share of possession of any side this season (56.7%) whilst Perth Glory have averaged the lowest share this term (44.5%).
- Bruno Fornaroli has scored six goals in his last four games against Perth Glory, while Andy Keogh has scored four goals in his last four games against Melbourne City.
What was said this week
Osama Malik
“It’s a massive game for us,” Malik said.
“Trying to qualify for Asia as well is important for us. When we found out we couldn’t make second, that was our goal. It’s a massive game for us, we need to go over there and try to win the game.
“We haven’t won as many away games as we would have like this season but we are confident with the personnel we have in our squad we can beat anyone so we want to put ourselves in the best position to do that.” Full article.
Perth forward Andy Keogh
“There should be plenty of attacking football and plenty of goals…of course we just go for it”
“It’s in our hands it should be an enjoyable game to watch, it’s important because you don’t have back to back away trips and it’d be nice for the people of Perth to have a home final as well”
“I’m looking forward to this important part of the season “
Where and when
City face Perth Glory on Sunday night, kick-off 7pm. See the match live on Fox Sports 505.
Member’s Finals priority ticketing information will be sent out shortly after the final whistle of Sunday’s match. Keep an eye on your inbox and melbournecityfc.com.au for all ticketing details.
