Melbourne City FC made a solid start to its 2021/22 A-League Men campaign with a win over Brisbane Roar and will be looking to pick up another three points this Saturday against Adelaide United.
With City’s Round 1 result looking threatened throughout the second half against the Roar, Patrick Kisnorbo will no doubt be looking for an improvement from his side to ensure a more complete performance against the Reds this weekend.
With that in mind, here’s what you should be watching for in City’s clash with Adelaide:
A rejuvenated front three with goals on their mind
Though fans got their first look at City’s much-hyped all-Socceroos front three last Friday, neither Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren nor Andrew Nabbout could find the back of the net in the season opener.
Leckie and Maclaren, in particular, may have been still feeling the effects of international travel and fatigue from their involvement in the Socceroos’ 1-1 draw with China just over two days prior to the game, whilst Nabbout also suffered an interrupted pre-season due to his national team involvement.
With all three having since been able to get a full week of training under their belt, City fans may see increased sharpness and improved fluency between the trio in the final third.
The boys’ mentality playing at a difficult venue
Where some see a recent poor record at a particular venue as a negative heading into a game, as champions, we’ll almost certainly be looking at the fixture as a challenge to overcome if we’re serious about defending our title.
For context, City hasn’t won in any of our last four away matches against Adelaide, scoring just one goal and conceding 10 in that time.
However, with the confidence of an unbeaten start to the season in all competitions and our strongest squad yet, the team will be looking to overturn poor recent results and collect another three points this weekend.
Curtis Good as he brings up the tonne
Our rock at the back, Curtis Good, is already early on in the season displaying the form that saw him receive a Socceroos call-up earlier this year.
Following a clean sheet in the FFA Cup Round of 32 and a goal in Round 1 of the A-League Men’s, City’s dependable centre-back will have the chance to bring up 100 club games in all competitions.
Securing that achievement against Adelaide would make him the third player in the club’s history to crack the tonne, after David Williams (103 appearances) and Scott Jamieson (107 and counting).
What will certainly make Good’s achievement unique is the fact that he played for both Melbourne Heart and Melbourne City, but, unlike Williams, he didn’t accumulate these appearances in one stint. Instead, the defender left City in 2012 to pursue overseas opportunities before returning to the club late in 2018, becoming one of our most integral players over the past three years.
Without any fitness concerns heading into Saturday’s game, an opportunity to secure such an important club milestone looks likely.
