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Round 4 represents redemption for both Melbourne City and the Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park in Melbourne at 7:50pm (AEDT). Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match.
Both sides were abject in 3 goal home losses to the Sydney clubs in Round 3. City, in particular, missed a golden chance to connect with fans in their first home game of the season, and instead left them shaking their heads over their poor performance.
City were weak from the first minute and let Sydney FC dictate the game. Even out of possession, Sydney’s structure was too rigid for City to play through. The stats show a team with nearly 200 more pbades and more shots than Sydney, but 3 fewer goals.
City was devoid of ideas in the forward third and – despite Dario Vidosic missing a great chance to equalise from his head – City barely tested the heavy-legged Sydney.
This week City will be hungry to bounce back against perennial underdogs Wellington.
The central midfield duo of Luke Brattan and Kearyn Baccus, in particular, should be jumping out of their skin to redeem themselves for the home fans. Neither had an impact against Sydney, and both were removed on the 72nd minute to the despair of manager Warren Joyce. Bruno Fornaroli toiled, but struggled with the lack of quality service.
The ‘Nix – still adjusting to life under Mark Rudan – gave up 56% of possession and 22 shots to the Wanderers in their Round 3 match.
It was Rudan first loss, having won and drawn their first two games, and he will be hoping that it represents a blip rather than a trend.
Wellington’s squad is a patchwork of players from last season and some old A-League heads, and Rudan has been patient in his attempts to attract a game-changing marquee (recently losing out in a bid for Giuseppe Rossi).
Their patience in finding the right calibre player is commendable and underlines that this new Phoenix is a long-term work in progress not looking for quick fixes.
That means that, on paper, City should have the stronger team and if they can control the tempo of the midfield and get better supply to Fornaroli and the late-running Vidosic, they should beat Wellington.
However, Sydney’s tactics of overloading the wide spaces and their interplay on the edge of the box will have been keenly noted by Mark Rudan. Forwards like the quick-footed Roy Krishna, and the crafty veteran Mitch Nichols could expose the City back 4 and get in behind Baccus and Brattan.
Prediction
City has a lotmatchup in this match up and should have too much firepower for Phoenix. An upset is definitely possible, as is a goal or two on the counter, but City should come out on top after 90.
Melbourne City 2 – Wellington Phoenix 1.
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