Amidst numerous changes from both sides, get up to date ahead of tonight’s clash with Melbourne City.
Head-to-head: City v Roar
- Overall record: 8 wins, 4 draws, 8 defeats, 29 goals for, 26 goals against
- Brisbane have only lost one of their past five matches against City. (W2, D2, L1)
- It will be the third time the sides have met this season following a 1-0 Brisbane win in November and a 1-1 draw a month later.
- The largest margin of victory came in the sides’ first ever meeting back in 2010 when the Roar were 4-0 victors.
- The most common scoreline is a 1-1 draw, followed by a 1-0 Melbourne City win or 2-1 Roar win.
- There is an average of 2.75 goals in City-Roar clashes.
- Melbourne City have never scored more than three goals against the Roar while Brisbane have netted four against the Victorians twice.
Last five meetings
- City 1-1 Roar – December 3, 2016 at AAMI Park
- Roar 1-0 City – November 4, 2016 at Suncorp Stadium
- City 3-1 Roar – March 18, 2016 at AAMI Park
- Roar 3-1 City – December 27, 2015 at Suncorp Stadium
- Roar 1-1 City – November 20, 2015 at Suncorp Stadium
Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park
- Record: 1 win, 2 draws, 6 defeats, 8 goals for, 16 goals against
- Brisbane’s only win against City in Victoria came in the teams’ first ever clash in the state back in 2010.
- The draw earlier this season at AAMI Park ended a six-match losing streak against City at the venue.
- Despite scoring just three goals in their last three games away from home, Brisbane Roar are undefeated in that span (W2, D1).
In form
- No side has scored more goals from headers or the penalty spot than City (six headed goals, eight penalty goals)
- The Roar are the only side to have scored two goals from direct free kicks this season.
- City have been involved in the most duels in the league but have the worst percentage of duels won (47.1%).
- The hosts’ will enter the clash with the league’s worst disciplinary record (307 fouls, 53 yellow cards) while only Adelaide United have accrued fewer yellow cards than the Roar (34).
- Brisbane Roar have made 8,482 passes so far this season, the most of any team in the competition and 107 more than second-ranked Melbourne City.
- Jamie Maclaren sits in the league’s top 10 for combined goals & assists while City will be without their two top-20 representatives (Bruno Fornaroli & Tim Cahill).
- Matt McKay continues to lead the way on the ball, sitting second in the competition for passes (672 passes at 75.9% success). Thomas Kristensen and Thomas Broich join the captain in the league’s top distributors.
Key area
- Neither side have won this season after conceding first but have gone on to win more than half the games in which they find the net first.
- City will be forced to play a depleted front-line in the absence of Bruno Fornaroli, Tim Cahill and Fernando Brandan, giving the Roar the perfect opportunity to test an inexperienced City squad.
- Brisbane will enter the clash full of confidence on the back of Wednesday’s famous AFC Champions League victory and momentum could be the key as both sides have included a number of young and inexperienced players in their squads.
Match details
Melbourne City FC v Brisbane Roar FC
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7:50PM (Local), 6:50PM (QLD time)
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (gk), 3.Josh ROSE, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Neil KILKENNY, 9.Nicolas COLAZO, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 12.Nick FITZGERALD, 14.Daniel ARZANI, 18.Paulo RETRE, 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 29.Braeydn CROWLEY, 34.Denis GENREAU, 35.Christian CAVALLO, 36.Dylan PIERIAS, 40.Yaren SOZER (gk), 41.Yusuf AHMED **two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Josh ROSE (promoted), 12.Nick FITZGERALD (promoted), 14.Daniel ARZANI (promoted), 29.Braeydn CROWLEY (promoted), 34.Denis GENREAU (promoted), 35.Christian CAVALLO (promoted), 36.Dylan PIERIAS (promoted), 40.Yaren SOZER (gk) (promoted), 41.Yusuf AHMED (promoted)
Outs: 2.Manny MUSCAT (suspended – 1 match), 6.Osama MALIK (suspended – 1 match), 17.Tim Cahill (suspended – 1 match), 20.Dean BOUZANIS (gk) (suspended – 5 matches), 23. Bruno FORNAROLI (suspended – 1 match), 26.Luke BRATTAN (suspended – 1 match), 27.Fernando BRANDAN (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 7.Corey GAMEIRO (ACL – season), 28.Steve KUZMANOVSKI (ACL – season)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 15.ARANA, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 20.Shannon BRADY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 46.Cameron CRESTANI, 50.Dane INGHAM **two to be omitted**
Ins: 20.Shannon BRADY (promoted), 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO (promoted), 28.Brandon BORRELLO (returns from suspension), 46.Cameron CRESTANI (promoted), 50.Dane INGHAM (promoted)
Outs: 13.Jade NORTH (suspended – 1 match), 19.Jack HINGERT (ankle – 2 weeks), 23.Dimitri PETRATOS (international transfer to Korea)
Unavailable: Nil
Referee: Alan Milliner
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis
Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Brown
Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 7.45pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 1 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Radio Melbourne, ABC Radio Brisbane, ABC Radio Vic/Qld, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live
