Defending champions Sydney FC will aim to reignite their struggling A-League season when they head north to tackle Brisbane Roar on Friday.
The Sky Blues have failed to replicate their fearsome form of previous years so far this season, with just three victories from their eight matches.
Match preview
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Sydney FC have been a shadow of themselves in 2020-21, with a meagre return that has already included three defeats and two draws.
In their last match the NSW side were edged 1-0 by neighbours Macarthur, and they went down to Melbourne City 3-2 two weeks ago.
If the Sky Blues are to successfully defend their title, they need to step it up a gear and fast.
Scoring goals has been a huge problem for Steve Corica's team, with just 10 strikes from eight fixtures.
The loss of English striker Adam Le Fondre to India in the off-season has been a significant blow to Sydney FC.
Former star Bobo has returned, but the club's strikeforce has yet to catch fire even with the veteran Brazilian back in their ranks.
While the Sky Blues have somewhat lost their mojo, Brisbane have been quietly going about their business.
The Roar are third from top, eight points behind league leaders Central Coast Mariners, but with a game in hand.
Their attack has been much more lethal this season, something new coach Warren Moon will be pleased about, but they lost their last match 3-1 to Perth Glory.
These two sides met just two weeks ago, with the fixture at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium ending in an 0-0 draw.
Sydney FC enjoy a great record against the Roar and are unbeaten in their past five encounters.
Brisbane Roar Australian A-League form: WWLDDL
Sydney FC Australian A-League form: LWWDLD
Team News
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Sydney FC midfielder Chris Zuvela is out for the season with an ACL tear.
Fellow midfielder Luke Brattan should make his return after sitting out the Macarthur match with concussion.
The Sky Blues will be hoping young striker Patrick Wood can continue to make an impact in the A-League.
Expect new signing Golgol Mebrahtu to get some more minutes for Brisbane after making his starting debut in the defeat to Perth.
Brisbane Roar possible starting lineup:
Young; Trewin, Aldred, Gillesphey; Hingert, Akbari, O'Shea, Brown, Wenzel-Halls, Mebrahtu, Danzaki
Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; Grant, Wilkinson, McGowan, King; Baumjohann, Brattan, Nieuwenhof, Ninkovic; Barbarouses, Wood
We say: Brisbane Roar 1-1 Sydney FC
Brisbane are tough to beat and strong at home. Sydney FC lack the killer instinct of previous campaigns, but they are no pushovers and will put up a fight, making a draw the most likely outcome.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sydney FC win with a probability of 40.14%. A win for Brisbane Roar had a probability of 35.39% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sydney FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.98%) and 0-2 (6.11%). The likeliest Brisbane Roar win was 2-1 (8.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.35%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.4% likelihood.
