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Within the heat of battle, only the coolest heads prevail. Often, they're also the most experienced. As Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers fight for bragging rights and three vital points for the first time this season, they will look for guidance from those players who have done it before
Bobo, Sydney FC
The Brazilian striker made his mark in his A-League debut for the Sky Blues and will look to continue his rich history of proving decisive on big occasions. It's why two-thirds of Istanbul were happy to see him leave Besiktas??? in 2011. Two league goals against Fenerbahce, and assists against Galatasaray??? made him infamous during his first spell in Turkey.
Oriol Riera, Wanderers
Bobo's opposite number is another who delivers on the biggest occasions and against local rivals. While playing for Osasuna???, he showed no love for their Basque neighbours, regularly scoring against Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad in La Liga. A club that was the blueprint of successful Spanish regionality meant Real Madrid - a club linked with the Franco dictatorship - was an ideological enemy and the giants were often a victim of Riera's strikes. He scored three in total against Los Blancos, including a brace to salvage a draw in 2013.
Adrian Mierzejewski, Sydney FC
The Polish international simply relishes the most volatile of derbies. That began in 2010 when he provided the assist for Polonia Warsaw's winner over rivals Legia???. He backed that up a season later with a goal in a 3-0 rout of Legia. It continued when he moved to Trabzonspor???, scoring a hat-trick in a demolition of rivals Sivasspor??? before scoring the winner over their nearest rivals, Rizespor???. A big-money move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr provided an abundance of passionate derbies in Riyadh. In 2015, he set-up the only goal against arch rivals Al-Hilal on the second last day of the season that sealed the title for Nassr at the expense of their fiercest foes.
Vedran Janjetovic, Wanderers
The first man to cross the line of the Sydney derby is also one of the most influential. No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than Janjetovic who has proven decisive in several matches for both clubs. Since moving to the Wanderers, he is yet to concede in two games against Sydney FC. Previously, he made a brilliant penalty save in 2014 to lead a Sky Blues comeback against the Wanderers.
Milos Ninkovic, Sydney FC
Fittingly, the Serbian star struck his first goal for the Sky Blues against the Wanderers in 2015 to clinch a 1-0 smash-and-grab win. In some ways though, it was slightly out of character for Ninkovic whose most notable moments in derbies came as the provider rather than finisher. In one of the world's fiercest rivalries, he shone, providing a superb assist for Red Star Belgrade against Partizan. He created a goal as Dynamo Kiev held Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2008 Super Cup and slotted his penalty in the resulting shoot-out. Ninkovic was the architect against Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Cup final of 2007, setting up the winner for Dynamo.
Fierce competitor: Robbie Cornthwaite tackles Connor Pain of the Mariners. Photo: AAP
Robbie Cornthwaite, Wanderers
Western Sydney's captain is an unlikely threat in front of goal come the heated moments. A fierce leader more known for his strong tackles, aerial dominance and composure in the back line, Cornthwaite has a knack for proving decisive at the other end in derbies as well. He scored the opener for Jeonnam Dragons against Jeonbuk??? in 2012 while playing in South Korea.
Alex Brosque, Sydney FC
Since progressing through the famed halls of Marconi, intra-city rivalries were common at Bossley Park, particularly against Sydney United and Sydney Olympic. At Sydney FC, he scored a dramatic winner over Western Sydney in 2014, completed the 4-0 record win last year. It wasn't just in Australia where he rose in the biggest occasions but also Japan, setting up goals for Shimizu S-Pulse against Shizuoka rivals Jubilo Iwata???.
Brendon Santalab, Wanderers
Few have a greater case of white-line fever than the fan favourite of Western Sydney. The club's all-time top scorer has only struck twice against Sydney FC but on both occasions, they proved to be the winners. A last-gasp goal in 2014 clinched a 1-0 win in Parramatta before Santalab ensured the Wanderers ended Sydney FC's undefeated record last season, scoring to inflict the only defeat against the Sky Blues all season.
