Sunday’s only A-League Round 26 match is between Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 5pm AEDT with the game to be played at Allianz Stadium. The home team Sydney FC are the favourites for the match. View our live scores and teams for the game between Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.

Round: Round 26, Sunday April 6 at 5pm AEDT.
Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Head to head: Played: 22, Wins: Sky Blues 11, Phoenix 10, Draws: 1
Previous encounter: Phoenix 1-0 Sky Blues, December 22 2013

Odds Comparison:

Sydney FC	1.75	1.77	1.79	1.77	1.75	1.80
Draw	3.75	3.60	3.60	3.60	3.75	3.60
Wellington Phoenix	4.40	1.77	4.10	4.50	4.40	4.00

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Preview:

This game kicks off on Sunday, 5PM at Allianz Stadium.  The Wellington Phoenix are currently in 8th ladder position, and are still in the finals race despite average form for most of the year.  Ernie Merrick’s men are without a goal in their past two matches, however, and will probably be out of finals contention by the end of the weekend.

The Sky Blues are also desperate for a win as they cling onto sixth spot after Perth’s win against the Newcastle Jets in round 25.  With 7 wins from 12 home matches this season, Sydney FC really need to win here if they want to avoid a high pressure round 27 against Perth.  Sydney should have enough here to take home the points, especially if Del Piero and Richard Garcia step up to the plate.

Teams:

Sydney FC squad:
1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Seb RYALL, 5.Matt JURMAN, 6.Nikola PETKOVIC, 9.Corey GAMEIRO, 10.Alessandro DEL PIERO (c), 11.Richard GARCIA, 13.Sasa OGNENOVSKI,16.Joel CHIANESE, 17.Terry ANTONIS, 18.Peter TRIANTIS, 20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 21.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 22.Ali ABBAS, 24.Hagi GLIGOR, 28.Matt THOMPSON, 29.Alec UROSEVSKI, 34.Aaron CALVER
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 24.Hagi GLIGOR , 29.Alec UROSEVSKI,
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Rhyan GRANT (knee – season), Pedj BOJIC (back – season), Ranko DESPOTOVIC (knee – 1 week), Terry McFLYNN (thigh – 1 week)

Wellington Phoenix squad:
1.Glen Moss (GK), 5.Michael Boxall, 9.Kenny Cunningham, 10.Stein Huysegems, 11.Jeremy Brockie, 12.Tyler Boyd, 14.Alex Rufer, 15.Jason Hicks, 17.Vince Lia, 18.Ben Sigmund, 19.Hamish Watson, 21.Carlos Hernandez, 22.Andrew Durante (c), 23.Matthew Ridenton, 24.Roy Krishna, 25.Shaun Timmins, 26.Justin Gulley, 30 Jacob Spoonley (GK)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 14.Alex Rufer (promoted), 19.Hamish Watson (promoted), 26.Justin Gulley (promoted), 30.Jacob Spoonley (injury replacement)
Outs: 2.Manny Muscat (suspended – 1 week), 20.Lewis Italiano (thumb injury – 4 to 5 weeks).
Unavailable: Reece Caira (fractured cheekbone 6-8 weeks), 6.Josh Brindell-South (ankle injury 4-6 weeks), 7.Leo Bertos (groin injury 2 to 3 weeks), 8.Paul Ifill (ruptured Achilles, season), 13.Albert Riera (groin injury, season), 16.Louis Fenton (shoulder injury, season)

News:

Off-contract striker Joel Chianese admits he’s unsure if his future lies with Sydney FC but will put contract talks aside to focus on making sure the Sky Blues make the Hyundai A-League finals.

Chianese has endured an injury disrupted campaign but has returned to first team action recently and grabbed the goal in last weekend’s vital 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory.

The 24-year-old is one of 11 players currently on the Sydney FC books that have yet to finalise his future beyond the end of the current season.

“I’ve been very loyal to Sydney FC. I’ve been there now for a number of years, it’s my home city, I’m around family and I’m comfortable,” Chianese told www.footballaustralia.com.au.

“I hope Sydney does come to me with an offer and something to consider but I’ll have to look after myself if the offer doesn’t come from Sydney.

“I’m happy anyway. I just want to do well for myself and for the team this year.

“At the moment I’m really just focused on getting back and playing 90 minutes, being in that starting 11 and scoring a few goals. Contract talks will continue once I’m done with that.

Like many Australian youngsters, Chianese’s dream is to one day head off and play abroad.

But he is no rush to make it happen, preferring to establish himself as an A-League star before taking the next step in his career.

“For me it’s about trying to get as much consistent game time as possible, being injury free and playing week in, week out,” said Chianese, who has been a part of the Sky Blues’ senior squad since 2011.

“That’s what I feel I need, that’s why staying in the A-League was perfect for me. It may be that I still may need another year in the A-League, play a full season and get that match practice.

“There’s so many opportunities now. Asia is obviously closer and a lot of boys are taking that route. Or you can go like some of the other boys to the German league which is good for developing players.

“There’s a lot of things I have to weight up once the season ends. At the moment I have to stay fit and hopefully we can have a good finals run.

“Opportunities do arise overseas and if I think it’s the right one for me I’ll be happy to take it on because I think every player wants to play at the highest level possible.”

For now though it’s all about qualifying for the finals, with Sydney needing to win their final two matches to ensure their spot in the top six.

They take on Wellington Phoenix on Sunday before a battle with last-placed Perth Glory a week later, both on their home patch at Allianz Stadium.

After missing the finals last season and with experienced stars like Alessandro Del Piero, Sasa Ognenovski and Richard Garcia in their side, Chianese admits it would be a failure if the Sky Blues missed the playoffs.

“We do have that expectation every year that Sydney does well being one of the biggest clubs in the league,” the Blacktown junior said.

“There would be that sense of under achievement if we didn’t make the finals. We planned from day one to make the finals.

“I don’t think it would be a great for Sydney in general if we didn’t make it, especially with two home games against two teams that are below us on the table.”

Sydney does have history on their side for Sunday’s clash, with Wellington losing on eight of their last nine visits to Sydney.

He added: “I want to do well for the team especially and at the same time I have to be looking after myself as well.

“Hopefully opportunities do come up for me whether it’s with Sydney or elsewhere.

“Let’s hope we make the finals first.”

Souce: www.footballaustralia.com.au