City Insider - City v Sydney FC - Tuesday 23 February

CITY INSIDER

MELBOURNE CITY FC vs SYDNEY FC TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY, 2021 KICK-OFF 7.05PM

MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE IT’S BEEN A WHILE BETWEEN DRINKS BUT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY STOKED TO FINALLY BE BACK OUT ON THE PITCH TONIGHT AND TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER – WE GET TO PLAY IN FRONT OF YOU! There is no doubt our recent form is down on both ours and your expectations but we’ve been putting in the hard yards out on the training pitch and we know we have what it takes to turn things around.

That starts tonight when we take on Sydney FC which is always one of the biggest challenges in the A-League.

We would’ve loved to have the opportunity to get back out there sooner as we are all eager to reverse our recent form but with postponements and date changes, we’ve been made to wait.

These are the times we are living through at the moment and that’s okay, but one thing is for sure, when that whistle blows tonight - we will be ready to go.

We are looking forward to welcoming back Andy Nabbout and Rostyn Griffiths into the squad tonight with both of the boys completing their rehab and now back to full fitness.

This fixture will mark the first time we have come up against Sydney FC since last year’s Grand Final and we are fired up to make sure this time it ends with us coming out on top.

While the focus now is on this season and that is in the past, the fire is still burning and we can’t wait to have the chance to have another crack at them tonight.

The boys are pumped up and ready to go and we just cannot wait to get out there.

Tonight will also be our first home game in over three weeks and we hope you are as excited as we are!

We hope to hear you make plenty of noise tonight because as always, we absolutely love playing in front of our home fans.

With last Friday’s fixture announcement, we got the news that we will be playing three consecutive home matches in a row in March so we can’t wait to see plenty more of you in the coming weeks!

Scott Jamieson Melbourne City FC captain

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MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

CITY OUT FOR GRAND

FINAL REDEMPTION

IN THE FIRST MEETING BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES SINCE THE 2020 A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL, MELBOURNE CITY AND SYDNEY FC WILL GO HEAD-TO-HEAD ONCE AGAIN WITH BOTH SIDES LOOKING TO GET BACK TO THE FORM THAT SAW THEM BATTLE IT OUT IN LAST SEASON’S BIG DANCE. Melbourne City FC will return to AAMI Park tonight when it takes on Sydney FC in a massive Grand Final re-match.

We are no strangers to mid-week football, having twice been a part of it in the early stages of this season.

We opened our season on a Tuesday night back in late December with a 0-1 win away from home to Brisbane, while we also took on Central Coast a couple of Wednesday’s ago in a game that saw plenty of goals.

Unfortunately, we were on the wrong end of that result and it came right in the middle of three consecutive losses in a row, a streak that we hope to snap tonight.

It has been a long couple of weeks on the training pitch with our last two games being postponed due to

border restrictions and this fixture also having been pushed back a week.

This will be our first meeting with Sydney FC since last seasons Grand Final and we will be looking to record a better result than we did on that night.

It was a tight contest that had to be decided in extra time, where eventually the home side were able to prevail 1-0. We saw a coming-ofage performance from keeper Tom Glover in that contest, with the City number one pulling off a remarkable eight saves to keep us in the fixture right until the final stages.

City fans will tonight get their first look up close at winger Andrew Nabbout.

The Socceroos winger was one of the Club’s biggest signings over the offseason but unfortunately has been

out of action since Round 1 due to a hamstring tear suffered in the win over Brisbane.

He had a strong pre-season and complimented fellow members of the front three Jamie Maclaren and Craig Noone perfectly.

Nabbout was named in our squad and set to return for the eventually postponed Round 8 fixture against Western Sydney, so now with another couple more weeks of training under his belt since then, expect him to be ready to go and be in contention to start straight away.

DANGER PLAYER

SEASON STATS - SYDNEY FC

A-LEAGUE PREVIEW

KOSTA BARBAROUSES The New Zealand attacker fell out of form towards the end of last season but was once again on the scoresheet in Sydney’s second match this season. He twice found the back of the net against Wellington with two quality finishes that any striker would’ve been proud of.

The A-League veteran will be aiming to repeat a similar trick tonight and will ensure that City’s centre back partnership of Curtis Good and Nuno Reis have their work cut out for them.

8

5

GOALS SCORED

GOALS CONCEDED

3

5

GAMES WON

LEAGUE POSITION

A-LEAGUE LADDER

LAST RESULT

LAST TIME WE MET

SYDNEY FC

0

SYDNEY FC

1

BRISBANE

0

MELBOURNE CITY

0

A-League 2020/21 - Match Week 9 Saturday 20 February, 2021 Nestrata Jubilee Stadium

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

A-League 2019/20 - Grand Final Saturday 30 August, 2020 Bankwest Stadium

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

WILL YOU BE CITY’S

LATEST PLAYER SIGNING? MELBOURNE CITY FC AND MCDONALD’S® ARE GIVING TWO LUCKY FOOTBALLERS, ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL, THE CHANCE TO BECOME MELBOURNE CITY FC’S LATEST PLAYER SIGNING! Not only will you get to visit the City Football Academy and experience the day #1 itinerary of a new player, the two winners will also get to participate in an exclusive training session with Melbourne City A-League Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo.

How to Enter?

​The experience will include:

Want to add to your submission? We would love to see your football skills in action as a bonus part of your entry into the competition.

- Meet with Melbourne City FC Director of Football to sign your new ‘player contract’* - Training session with Melbourne City A-League Head Coach, Patrick Kisnorbo - Studio session with Club photographer - Press conference* announcing you as Melbourne City FC’s latest signing - Invitation for the winner and their teammates to play on the pitch at half time of a Melbourne City FC match as part of the Macca’s Half Time Heroes experience, including tickets to the match

All you have to do is complete the entry form in the QR code below, telling us in 150 characters or less, why you think you are Melbourne City’s next big thing?

​Competition Terms and Conditions Please note that entrants must be aged between 10-14 years old, must be residents of Victoria and have guardian consent to enter the competition.

View the full Terms and Conditions in the link below.

Please note: prize is an award for a one-day experience only, and is not an official signing as a player for the Club.

​ e know that the best things are in life are W experienced together so our two winners will also be able to invite a friend each to join them for the day - how good is that! ​

ENTER HERE

MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

NABBOUT’S

MELBOURNE RETURN TONIGHT WILL BE THE FIRST CHANCE CITY FANS GET TO SEE ONE OF THE CLUB’S NEW FACES ANDREW NABBOUT IN ACTION AT AAMI PARK AS THE MELBOURNE NATIVE RETURNS FROM INJURY. Nabbout was one of the biggest names to join City in the off-season but unfortunately, a hamstring injury in the second half of our Round 1 win has seen the winger on the sidelines ever since.

It has robbed fans the opportunity to see him form a deadly front three with Socceroos teammate Jamie Maclaren as well as Craig Noone.

Nabbout was set to return from injury a couple of weeks ago against the Wanderers but with that fixture postponed, as well as City’s next match against Perth, he’s been made to wait.

Although he hasn’t played, with plenty of hours completed on the training pitch in recent weeks, it will be interesting to see if Patrick Kisnorbo decides to bring him into the starting XI or again use him as an impact sub off of the bench.

Nabbout is now back in Melbourne where his football career begun, first playing at Brunswick City as a junior.

He signed with the youth team of City’s cross-town rival Melbourne

Victory prior to the 2012/13 season and his professional career begun with an A-League debut against Brisbane Roar in October 2012.

Victory is where Nabbout would remain for the next few seasons, making 45 appearances and scoring five goals for the club before making the move to Newcastle for the 2016/17 season.

The Jets are where he saw his best A-League form, spending a couple of seasons there and quickly becoming one of the leagues most exciting players to watch and making goalkeepers nervous everywhere he went – scoring 18 goals and recording seven assists.

This great form propelled him overseas with a move to Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds coming in 2018, a club that he would end up appearing 29 times for while also being a part of a cup win.

Nabbout returned to Australia prior to last season, re-joining the Victory – his first professional club.

Following another successful A-League season that yielded eight goals and a handful of

assists, he made the move across town to join City.

Upon joining the Club, Nabbout said he was excited to play alongside Maclaren – his Socceroos teammate.

“I know Jamie really well so I’m definitely looking forward to linking up with him,” he said, “Obviously he scored a lot of goals last season so now it’s my job to make sure he gets more and also try to help the team out by getting a few myself.”

Nabbout said it didn’t take him long to settle in at City and having already known a number of new teammates helped speed up that process.

“We just need to make sure we are putting teams under pressure for the full 90 minutes because we know if we do that, we will be able to force errors which will lead to goals for us.”

Expect to see Nabbout causing plenty of havoc down the wing for Sydney’s defenders tonight as we hope to see our lethal front three lead us to a much needed three points.

KEY STATS - ANDREW NABBOUT A-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 MATCHES PLAYED

1

PASS SUCCESS %

70

SHOTS ON TARGET

2

KEY PASSES

1

MATCH SQUADS

HEAD COACH: PATRICK KISNORBO

A-LEAGUE

1. TOM GLOVER

2. SCOTT GALLOWAY

3. SCOTT JAMIESON

4. NUNO REIS

7. ROSTYN GRIFFITHS

8. AIDEN O’NEILL

9. JAMIE MACLAREN

10. FLORIN BERENGUER

11. CRAIG NOONE

13. NATHANIEL ATKINSON

14. NAOKI TSUBAKI

15. ANDREW NABBOUT

16. TARAS GOMULKA

17. STEFAN COLACOVSKI

18. CONNOR METCALFE

19. BEN GARUCCIO

20. ADRIAN LUNA

22. CURTIS GOOD

23. MARCO TILIO

33. MATT SUTTON

35. RAPHAEL BORGES RODRIGUES

36. KERRIN STOKES

37. BERNADO OLIVEIRA

38. JORDAN BOS

42. AHMED TALEB

1 20

ANDREW REDMAYNE THOMAS HEWARD-BELLE

2 3 4 6 7 16 21 23

PATRICK FLOTTMANN BEN WARLAND ALEX WILKINSON RYAN MCGOWAN MICHAEL ZULLO JOEL KING HARRY VAN DER SAAG RHYAN GRANT

5 8 10 17 19 26 28

ALEXANDER BAUMJOHANN PAULO RETRE MILOS NINKOVIC ANTHONY CACERES CHRIS ZUVELA LUKE BRATTAN CALEM NIEUWENHOF

9 11 12 13 18 33

BOBO KOSTA BARBAROUSES TRENT BUHAGIAR JORDAN SWIBEL LUKE IVANOVIC PATRICK WOOD

HEAD COACH: STEVE CORICA

SYDNEY FC

MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

HERSDAY FOOTBALL

BACK FOR W-LEAGUE OUR WESTFIELD W-LEAGUE SQUAD WILL MAKE A LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO THE PITCH THIS THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN IT TRAVELS UP TO WESTERN SYDNEY TO TAKE ON THE WANDERERS. With a postponed fixture and also a bye last weekend, Rado Vidosic’s squad haven’t played since February 4.

That match was played behind closed doors at AAMI Park after a last-minute venue change had to be made.

Unfortunately Sydney FC got the better of us that night and came away 0-2 winners. We weren’t without our chances though, especially in the first half but despite a few good opportunities on goal – we weren’t able to find the back of the net.

The first half ended nil-all but a couple of second half goals to the visitors were enough for them to take home the three points.

It has been far from the start of the

season we were hoping for but with a lot of turnover in the squad from last season and a number of key players arriving late due to quarantine requirements, it certainly hasn’t been an effort issue.

With Norwegian midfielder Noor Eckhoff’s arrival back in mid-January, the full squad has now had a month of training together so expect the chemistry to continue to improve in the second half of the season.

One of the positives of not having played for so long has been the extended period of time spent out of the training pitch. Vidosic has had plenty of time to work with the squad so expect to see an improved performance on Thursday night.

We are sitting at the opposite end of the table to where we want to be

but as we’ve seen in seasons past, anything is possible in the W-League.

If we are to make a late push for finals, the results will have to turn around immediately and that starts against the Wanderers.

Both teams have struggled to score this season, finding the back of the net seven times (Wanderers have played one more game) but with both teams needing a win to keep their finals hopes alive, expect plenty of action on Thursday night.

See all the action on Fox Sports and streaming on Kayo and the My Football Live app.

DANGER PLAYER

SEASON STATS - WESTERN SYDNEY

W-LEAGUE PREVIEW

SARAH HUNTER Despite being just 17 years old and playing in her first Westfield W-League season, Hunter has been impressive and has played a key role in the middle of the park for her team.

She has appeared five times for the Wanderers this season and has started all of their last four fixtures.

Hunter’s highlight of the season came a few weeks back in her team’s 2-2 draw against Adelaide where she scored both goals – one in either half, to secure her team a point.

2

17

GAMES WON

GOALS CONCEDED

7

6

GOALS SCORED

LEAGUE POSITION

W-LEAGUE LADDER

LAST RESULT

LAST TIME WE MET

WESTERN SYDNEY

1

MELBOURNE CITY

5

PERTH

0

WESTERN SYDNEY

1

W-League 2020/21 - Match Week 9 Thursday 18 February, 2021 Marconi Stadium

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

W-League 2019/20 - Semi Final Sunday 15 March, 2020 ABD Stadium

VIDEO HIGLIGHTS

MELBOURNE CITY v SYDNEY FC

CITY INSIDER TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

KID’S ZONE

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE SPOT THE 5 DIFFERENCES IN THE PICTURES

PRESENTED BY

LOTUS)LIVING

meet the team NAME: Nathaniel Atkinson AGE: 21 POSITION: Defender NATIONALITY: Australian PREVIOUS CLUBS: Riverside Olympic JUNIOR CLUB: Riverside Olympic FAVOURITE FOOD: Satay Skewers FAVOURITE TV SHOW: How I Met Your Mother

WORD SEARCH

HEAD TO OUR ONLINE INTERACTIVE WORD SEARCH TO COMPLETE THIS WEEK’S CITY CROSSWORD!

LA TROBE TILIO CITY VICTORIA NUNO

TSUBAKI NABBOUT GOAL OLYMPIC BLUE

XBOX or PlayStation: PlayStation IF I WASN’T A FOOTBALLER I’D BE: A tennis player or YouTuber FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION: Tasmania or Croatia

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