Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar
Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Kick-off: 7:50pm
Live on Fox Sports and One
Referee: Alex King
Sydney FC
Likely team:(4-2-3-1): Redmayne; Wilkshire, Wilkinson, Buijs, Retre; Brillante, O'Neill; Ninkovic, Brosque, Mierzejewski; Bobo.
Player to watch: Adrian Mierzejewski. The Polish winger's first start in over a month was one ro remember as a man-of-the-match performance in the Sky Blues' FFA Cup triumph over Adelaide United midweek showed why there's so much excitement around his signing this season. He is likely to retain his place in the line-up despite the short turnaround and his movement between the lines and his passing range will cause havoc for Brisbane's defence.
Brisbane Roar
Likely team: (4-2-3-1): Young; Hingert, Papadopolous, Pepper, Franjic; McKay, Caletti; Bautheac, Holman, Ben Khalfallah; Maccarone.
Player to watch: Eric Bautheac. Red tape held up the arrival of the highly rated French winger and he showed what the Roar missed out in the first few rounds of the season with an impressive display against Melbourne City last week. He is beginning to find his feet in the A-League and combining with his fellow forwards. There's a growing sense that he could hold the key to unlocking the Roar's attacking potential.
In the dug-out
Graham Arnold, Sydney FC. The man most likely to replace Ange Postecoglou as Socceroos' coach insists his only focus is on beating Brisbane Roar on Saturday. Arnold is riding a wave of confidence, having won his third title in six months - beating Adelaide to clinch the FFA Cup on Tuesday night - and will resist making many changes if possible. Milos Ninkovic trained despite suffering an injury midweek, as did Luke Wilkshire, while Michael Zullo spent Friday's session with the physio.
John Aloisi, Brisbane Roar. The addition of Australian international Ivan Franjic is a major boost for the Roar's defence, which has been far from watertight this season, and adds some experience to the back line for Aloisi. The Roar coach won his first game of the season last week after beating Melbourne City and won't likely make many changes to his line-up other than the inclusion of Franjic.
