Preview: Sydney FC vs. Perth Glory - prediction, team news, lineups

Sydney FC will be looking to make it back-to-back wins on Wednesday when they welcome Perth Glory to the Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

The hosts will look to climb back up the Australian A-League table with another victory after a drop to sixth spot, while Perth Glory remain in the bottom four after a poor run of form.

Match preview

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Sydney FC recorded a dominant 3-0 victory last time out, when they travelled to basement side Melbourne Victory.

An Elvis Kamsoba red card for the hosts helped Sydney's cause, and Bobo, Kosta Barbarouses and Alexander Baumjohann would go on to net goals to seal a comfortable victory.

That was an important return to winning ways for Steve Corica's side, after they previously drew 1-1 with Perth Glory and narrowly lost 1-0 to Adelaide United, who sat in second spot at the time.

That recent draw between Sydney and Perth could provide a preview for this game, as Bruno Fornaroli put the Glory ahead on the stroke of half time before Bobo netted an equaliser on the hour mark.

The Sky Blues will look to go one better in this game and record a second consecutive victory, which would see them move up to fourth spot in the Australian top flight.

However, they take on a Perth Glory side who will also be desperate for three points, as they look to reverse their fortunes and spark a move back up the table.

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The Glory suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Macarthur last time out, as Matt Derbyshire scored a first-half brace to condemn Richard Garcia's side to a sixth league defeat of the season.

After a strong start to the season, when they won four of their first six games, the Perth outfit have quickly dropped down the table, having picked up just one win from the seven games since.

That solitary win came before the recent defeat to Macarthur, as they held on for a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Newcastle Jets thanks to goals from Ciaran Bramwell and Darryl Lachman, despite a red card for Jonathan Aspropotamitis in the first half.

If the Glory are to reverse their fortunes in the A-League, they will need to address their defensive issues, as only basement side Melbourne Victory have conceded more than the 27 goals that Perth Glory have conceded in 13 league games.

However, they have been much stronger in attack, with only three sides topping their tally of 24 goals.

Garcia will feel that his side can quickly rise towards to the top end of the division if they can find a way to shut teams out while retaining their strong attacking output.

Wednesday could prove a good chance to set that in motion, as they take on one of the league's weaker attacking sides, although no side has conceded as few as the 13 that the Sky Blues have shipped this season, presenting an interesting battle between contrasting sides.

Team News

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Sydney FC should have all their core squad players available for selection for this game, although they have suffered several injuries to squad players, as Trent Buhagiar, Chris Zuvela and Michael Zullo continue spells on the sidelines.

The Sky Blues have built the best defensive record this season thanks to the strong pairing of Ryan McGowan and Alex Wilkinson at the back, shielding the impressive Andrew Redmayne in goal.

At the other end of the pitch, Bobo will lead the line having scored two goals in his last three games.

Perth Glory have managed to keep their squad in good shape, with forward Nick Sullivan the only expected absentee through injury.

They will be boosted by the return of centre-back Jonathan Aspropotamitis, who served a suspension last time out for the red card shown against Newcastle Jets.

Bruno Fornaroli will lead the line for the Glory, having registered eight goals and three assists in 13 league games this season.

Garcia's task has been finding a partner for his star man, with Andy Keogh dropped to the bench having failed to score in 11 appearances.

Last time out, youngster Ciaran Bramwell was moved to the left-hand side, allowing for veteran Diego Castro to operate in the forward line alongside Fornaroli, and Garcia could opt for that pairing again on Wednesday.

Sydney FC possible starting lineup:

Redmayne; Grant, McGowan, Wilkinson, King; Caceres, Brattan, Retre, Ninkovic; Barbarouses, Bobo

Perth Glory possible starting lineup:

Reddy; Geria, Lachman, Aspropotamitis, Ota; Ingham, Malik, Kilkenny, Bramwell; Castro, Fornaroli

We say: Sydney FC 2-1 Perth Glory

Something has to give in this clash as the league's strongest defence takes on one of its best attacking sides, while both struggle at the other end of the pitch, and we see the Sky Blues coming out with a narrow victory.

They showed attacking improvement in the recent 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory, and if they can continue that while maintaining their strong defensive structure, they should have too much for a struggling Perth Glory side.