We’ve already played them once this season in a Friday night blockbuster, can we make it two wins against Melbourne City this Saturday? Take a look at the 18-man squad for both sides.
Roar v City: Head-to-head
Both sides have shared the spoils evenly throughout their 19 meetings, with eight wins apiece and three draws.
The Roar have outscored City by three goals in those matches, scoring 28 times and conceding 25.
There has never been a scoreless draw between the teams with a 1-0 Melbourne City win, 1-1 draw or 2-1 Brisbane Roar win the most common results.
There is an average of 2.79 goals in Roar-City fixturesCity have only scored two or more goals on five occasions against Brisbane while the Roar have netted twice in seven fixtures against the Victorians.
The matchup has historically favoured the hosts with away sides taking the three points on three occasions and just once since 2009.
KEY FACT: City and the Roar are equal second behind Sydney FC for goals conceded (9 goals) and the two sides have been involved in the most duels in the league.
Last time they met
Brisbane Roar 1-0 Melbourne City, Friday 4 November at Suncorp Stadium
Jamie Maclaren netted his second goal in less than a week in the side’s last meeting in Round 5.
The Roar were able to find the target on four occasions from eight shots, restricting City’s potent attack to three shots and no shots on target for only the second time in City’s history.
Thomas Kristensen (below), who returns this week, was Man of the Match with six interceptions, three tackles and four clearances along with 86% pass accuracy and a number of attempts on goal.
Brisbane’s defensive effort was underlined by the dominance in tackles. The home side made 34 tackles (82.4% success rate) in comparison with City’s 14, and clearly won the clearance count as well.
The matchup
Neither side has been defeated when they have scored first this season. However, neither side has gone on to win after conceding first.
Both sides have scored more than 70% of their goals from the right boot this season. Likewise, both sides have conceded four goals from the right boot.
Melbourne City’s disciplinary record is the worst in the Hyundai A-League
City’s Bruno Fornaroli and Roar’s Jamie Maclaren (below) lead their sides in goals and are their club’s sole representatives in the league’s top 10.
BRFC player stats
Jamie Maclaren and Tommy Oar are both among the top six players in the Hyundai A-League for shots with 20 each.
No Brisbane Roar player has created more chances than Oar whose tally is up to 12.
Captain Matt McKay is leading by example in midfield sitting 8th in the league for combined passes and pass accuracy.
After missing last week’s match, tackle and intercept-leader Thomas Kristensen will play a key role in midfield.
Melbourne City FC v Brisbane Roar FC. Saturday, 3 December 2016. AAMI Park, Melbourne.
Melbourne City FC Squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (GK), 2.Manny MUSCAT, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Osama MALIK, 9.Nicolas COLAZO, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 12.Nick FITZGERALD, 17.Tim CAHILL, 18.Paulo RETRE, 20.Dean BOUZANIS (GK), 21. Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Bruno FORNAROLI (C), 26.Luke BRATTAN, 27.Fernando BRANDAN **two to be omitted**
Ins: 6. Osama MALIK (returns from injury), 18. Paulo RETRE (promoted), 21. Ruon TONGYIK (promoted)
Outs: 8. Neil KILKENNY (suspended – 1 week)
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, 11.Tommy OAR, 13.Jade NORTH, 15.ARANA, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17. Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 33.Joey KATEBIAN **two to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN (promoted), 28.Brandon BORRELLO (returns from injury), 33.Joey KATEBIAN (promoted)
Outs: 10.Brett HOLMAN (knee – 6 weeks)
Unavailable: Nil
Referee: Shaun Evans Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis Assistant Referee 2: Luke Brennan Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
