Sydney FC have pledged to attack lowly Adelaide United in a bid to make inroads into the A-League finals.

The Sky Blues’ away match against Adelaide on Sunday looms as a season-shaper for both clubs.

Sydney (27 points) and Adelaide (23 points) harbour hopes of late runs into the top six.

“Of course we know this last part of the regular season is very important for us, because we need to pick up more points to reach the top six,” Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka said.

“Every team is very close, so it’s going to be very, very important and tough game for both sides in Adelaide.”

Both clubs enter the twilight fixture with winning form – the Sky Blues downing Perth Glory last weekend while the Reds defeated last-placed Gold Coast.

Adelaide also secured a spot in the Asian Champions League with a 3-0 triumph over Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura last Thursday night.

Lavicka said he would order an attacking performance against the Reds.

“We always try to play the active kind of football,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if we play at home or away, but we have respect for opponent as well.

“We know that they (Adelaide) did get a good result last weekend when they played Gold Coast away, they did good performance when they played Asian Champions League qualifying.

“So their confidence is going to be up as well.”

Sydney captain Terry McFlynn said his side would have to heed their coach’s attacking instructions.

“We have to,” McFlynn said.

“We have to win games to get ourselves in the six.

“The boys had a fantastic performance last week to get us up and running, hopefully that momentum carries into Sunday’s game.”

Sydney players closely watched Adelaide’s win over the Indonesians on Thursday night, he said.

“I think we got something out of the game and we have analysed the last few games they have played, we know what to expect from Adelaide,” McFlynn said.