Friday’s A-League 2016 Round 5 match is between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City. The opening kick off is set to commence at 19:45 local time with the game to be played at Suncorp Stadium. The away team Melbourne City are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City.
Brisbane v Melbourne City | Friday, November 4, 7.50pm (AEDT), Suncorp Stadium
The Roar have been a different team since their 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Jets in round 2, winning back-to-back games and now going for a third straight victory.
Roar striker Jamie Maclaren (pictured above) got his first goal of the campaign and this will be a huge boost for both him and the Roar.
Maclaren is quick, lively, and dangerous in the box. Despite not scoring in the first few rounds, he was still creating chances and remained positive.
For City, prolific goal scorer Bruno Fornaroli netted another brace in their 2-1 victory over the defending champions Adelaide and has now scored 29 goals in 33 A-League appearances.
Fornaroli is not only deadly in the box, he has shown great leadership as captain as well.
Defensively, the Roar will need to be at their best to not only shut down Fornaroli, but also Tim Cahill, who was rested against Adelaide and the impressive Argentine Fernando Brandan (pictured above).
KEY BATTLE: Michael Theo v Bruno Fornaroli
With Fornaroli hitting top form, Theo will be in for a busy night. I expect Theo to have a good game but Fornaroli will still add to his tally.
The verdict
City were impressive against Adelaide and rested a few of their key men.
They have a great squad with plenty of depth which will give them an edge but the Roar are strong at home which will level things out.
Unibet Odds: Brisbane 2.75 Draw 3.60 Melbourne City 2.45
Tip: Draw
Correct score: 2-2
Teams:
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 13.Jade NORTH, 15.ARANA, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO.
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (gk), 2.Manny MUSCAT, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Osama MALIK, 8.Neil KILKENNY, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 12.Nick FITZGERALD, 17.Tim CAHILL, 18.Paulo RETRE, 20.Dean BOUZANIS (gk), 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Bruno FORNAROLI (c), 26.Luke BRATTAN, 27.Fernando BRANDAN, 35.Christian CAVALLO.
