Friday’s first A-League Round 17 match is between Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 7.30pm with the game to be played at AAMI Park. The home team Melbourne Heart are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC.
Round: Round 17, Friday, January 31 at 7.30pm AEDT.
Stadium: AAMI Park
Head to head: Played: 11 Wins: Heart 3, Sydney 3, Draws: 5
Previous encounter: Sydney 2-1 Heart, December 15, 2013
Melbourne Heart $2.20 vs Sydney FC $3.10 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Melbourne Heart $2.25 vs Sydney FC $2.95 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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| Melbourne Heart | 2.20 | 2.25 | 2.25 | 2.25 | 2.20 | 2.10 |
| Draw | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.35 | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.40 |
| Sydney FC | 3.10 | 3.00 | 2.95 | 3.00 | 3.10 | 3.20 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Melbourne Heart FC Squad:
1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3. Robbie WIELAERT, 4. Orlando ENGELAAR, 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. Harry KEWELL (C), 11.Michael MIFSUD, 13. Jonatan GERMANO, 15. David WILLIAMS, 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 19. Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20. Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21. Stefan MAUK, 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC, 24. Patrick KISNORBO
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 6. Patrick GERHARDT (returns from injury), 15. David WILLIAMS (returns from injury),
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Sydney FC squad:
1.Ivan NECEVSKI (go), 2.Seb RYALL, 4.Ranko DESPOTOVIC, 5.Matt JURMAN, 6.Nikola PETKOVIC, 9.Corey GAMEIRO, 10.Alessandro DEL PIERO (c), 11. Richard GARCIA, 19.Nick CARLE, 20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (go), 21. Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 22.Ali ABBAS, 24. Hagi GLIGOR, 25. Daniel PETKOVSKI, 28.Matt THOMPSON, 29. Alec UROSEVSKI, 35. Dylan CATON
**One to be omitted**
Ins: 11. Richard GARCIA (return from injury), 35. Dylan CATON (promoted),
Outs: 15.Terry MCFLYNN (quad injury),
Unavailable: Rhyan GRANT (knee – season), Peter TRIANTIS (groin – indefinite), Pedj BOJIC (back – 2 weeks) Terry MCFLYNN (quad – 2-3 weeks), Joel CHIANESE (hamstring – 1 week)
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Heart: DWLDL
Sydney: WLLDL
The Game:
Melbourne Heart will go into this clash with more confidence than they’ve had in months after picking up four points from a possible six.
They backed up their drought-breaking 3-1 win over the Newcastle Jets with a respectable 2-2 draw away to in-form Adelaide United, and could well have emerged from their trip to Coopers Stadium with all three points.
Sydney meanwhile snapped their own winless streak in the most emphatic fashion imaginable, thumping arch-rivals Melbourne Victory 5-0 away from home.
The Sky Blues are back in Victoria again just five days later, and will be hoping for a repeat of that bumper haul. But they’re unlikely to have such an easy time of it against a Heart side that looks tighter at the back and sharper up front as returning head coach John van ‘t Schip begins to stamp his mark on the team.
The big issue:
Heart – Demonstrating a mental toughness which has been absent for much of 2013-14 is important for the Heart this week.
They could perhaps be forgiven for being a little disappointed in not notching successive victories with a win away to Adelaide, but must not let the concession of that late Ryan Griffiths goal distract them from continuing the important progress they have made in recent weeks.
Sydney – The Sky Blues must prove that Sunday’s heavy win at Etihad Stadium was not a one-off.
Let’s not forget the underwhelming form Frank Farina’s team had been in during the weeks leading up to that game.
Porous at the back and toothless in attack for much of January, was the Australia Day demolition job more a consequence of Victory’s hapless display than Sydney’s restored cohesion? The final score on Friday night will give us an indication.
The game breaker:
Ranko Despotovic terrorised the Victory defence on Sunday evening, opening the scoring with a well-taken goal before winning a penalty to send Sydney on their way.
Too strong for youngsters Scott Galloway, Jason Geria and Nick Ansell, and too quick for Adrian Leijer to keep up with, the Serbian forward produced arguably his best performance since joining the Sky Blues, and will present a major challenge for Heart’s defence this week.
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au