The FFA Cup round of 16 concludes tonight, with four exciting matches to take place across the country.
In arguably the biggest clash of the night, Sydney United and Western Sydney Wanderers will do battle at Campbelltown Stadium. United have been in great form, defeating Blacktown City 7-3 and Wollongong Wolves 2-1 to reach the NPL NSW Grand Final. On the other hand, the Wanderers came back from Western Australia with a 2-1 victory over Perth Glory in the round of 32 of the competition. This will be a close contest and the Wanderers will need to avoid complacency to progress to the next round.
Up north, Brisbane Strikers will host Manly United at Perry Park. The Strikers will come into this match at the top of their game, following an 11-0 victory over Magpies Crusaders on Saturday. Manly finished their NPL NSW season almost three weeks ago, however played a friendly against Sydney FC on Thursday in order to regain some match fitness. The home side may come in as favorites, however do not discount the Manly side that held Sydney FC to a 1-1 draw.
In South Australia,Adelaide Olympic will face off against Victorian side Hume City. Olympic are currently fourth in NPL SA and defeated Blue Eagles 2-0 in their Elimination Final on the weekend. Hume City finished the NPL Victoria regular season in sixth position and will also play in an Elimination Final this weekend. This match is a tough one to predict, with both sides having strong seasons in their respective leagues.
Finally, Brisbane Roar will take on Central Coast Mariners in an all A-League clash at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe. The Roar’s 2-0 victory over Sydney FC away from home in the round of 32 will give them plenty of confidence going into the match. The Mariners defeated Maitland in the round of 32, however given their struggles in previous editions of the competition, the victory was a big one. These two clubs had horror campaigns last season and look to have improved over the break.
Following the conclusion of these matches, the draw for the Quarter Finals will take place.
