Sydney FC will be hoping to enter the festive season with a victory as they host Macarthur Bulls on Christmas Eve at Allianz Stadium.
These two sides met just over a month ago at Campbelltown Stadium, where the Sky Blues took all three points in a thrilling encounter that ended 3-2.
Sydney have just one point fewer than Macarthur despite five places separating the two teams in the A-League table.
Match preview
Sydney have started their A-League campaign with inconsistent form, something we would not usually associate with a side so familiar with success and stability in their performance.
Last time out, Sydney travelled to Central Coast Stadium and took on a Central Coast Mariners side in a bad patch of form after losing their previous two games.
Sydney were the stronger side for the first half-hour of the match, dominating possession and creating multiple goalscoring opportunities, coming closest to taking the lead through Luke Brattan as the midfielder hit the bar in the early stages.
The Sky Blues then took the lead on 11 minutes through Paulo Retre, who took advantage of a mishandled save from Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic after a powerful shot from Sydney winger Robert Mak.
After the goal, the Mariners began to play a more attacking brand of football, and equalised through Brazilian Marco Tulio, who headed home a wonderful cross from talented youngster Garang Kuol.
A few minutes later, the Mariners hit the front through Dan Hall, and then defended obdurately for the rest of the match to keep out Sydney and take all three points.
Despite the defeat, midfielder Anthony Caceres was satisfied with the performance of his team, and claimed "the first 30 minutes was the best we have played all season".
Meanwhile, Macarthur will be buoyed by their superb win against Perth Glory last weekend, a result which saw the Bulls move up to fourth place in the A-League table.
While Perth held much of the ball in the first half, Dwight Yorke's side played with much more attacking flair in the second half, and came close to taking the lead through captain Ulises Davila just after the break.
Macarthur continued to test Perth's defensive stability, and on 70 minutes Georgian striker Bachana Arabuli headed home the only goal of the game to open his A-League account, and hand Macarthur their third victory of the season.
The Bulls have now scored a goal in seven of their last eight fixtures, and will be looking to take all three points away from Sydney FC for the first time since November 2021.
Team News
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Steve Corica has some fresh concerns for his Sydney side ahead of the visit from Macarthur, with a number of key players unavailable for selection.
Max Burgess suffered a concussion just before the break last weekend, and was unable to play any part in the second half. Burgess will now be unavailable for the visit from Macarthur due to the concussion protocols.
Luke Brattan is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card last weekend, while Jack Rodwell is still unavailable.
Connor O'Toole is yet to make an A-League appearance this season, and remains a long-term absentee for the Sky Blues.
Joe Lolley was awarded man of the match for Sydney FC last weekend, and has scored in two of his last three A-League matches.
Dwight Yorke has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Sydney, and will likely stick with the same starting 11 that resiliently earned the win against Perth last weekend.
Craig Noone is currently on four yellow cards, and should he pick up another caution against Sydney, he will miss the visit from Western Sydney Wanderers on New Year's Day.
Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; Grant, Donachie, Gurd, Caballo; Retre, Steele, Caceres; Lolley, Mak, Le Fondre
Macarthur possible starting lineup:
Kurto; Aspropotamitis, Vujica, Millar, Uskok; Toure, Baccus, De Silva, Arzani; Arabuli, Davila
We say: Sydney FC 0-1 Macarthur
Macarthur have defended superbly this season and have an decent record on the road, winning eight of their last 16 away fixtures.
While Sydney were competitive in the first half against the Mariners last weekend, they will have difficulties stopping a Macarthur attacking force in fine form.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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