After battling it out to a draw in the first leg, it is all to play for on Friday in the A-League semi-final as Melbourne City host Sydney FC.

While the home side might be considered the favourites after finishing as A-League Premiers, the visitors will be pushing just as they did in the match last week.

Match preview

Melbourne City had a dominant campaign prior to the finals series as they managed to finish top having lost only three games across the 26 that were played, although Sydney FC caused one of those defeats.

That brought plenty of confidence into this stage of the season, which was reflected by the early lead that they took in the first leg with Mathew Leckie putting them ahead in the 18th minute.

However, Melbourne City were unable to hang on to that one as a second-half penalty from Adam Le Fondre has led to this Friday's match having everything to play for.

The hosts should bring a lot of confidence into it, though, as they finished the regular season undefeated at home, and the fact they made it a true fortress could give them a psychological edge in this one.

The previous meeting between these two sides at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was another close one, but Melbourne City did take bragging rights with a 3-2 win which they will be keen to repeat here.

The fact all three games between the teams has been close this season should bring confidence to the visitors, though, with both teams boasting a victory against the other, while they have also drawn once.

Sydney FC have already had the experience of competing in knockout football this season as they had to defeat Western Sydney Wanderers to reach this stage in the competition, which could help them here.

Steve Corica's men also boasted a strong away record in the A-League by winning six times on the road, which was a record only matched by the top two throughout the season.

While they do not boast the same attacking threat as their opponents, Sydney FC have proven their ability to cause Melbourne City problems at the back in their previous meetings as of late.

With only one match between them and the final, there is no doubt that they will push the favourites all the way, especially since they caused so many problems in the first leg.

Team News

Leckie rewarded his manager for bringing him back into the starting lineup by finding the back of the net in the first leg, and that could lead to him retaining his place in the team this time around.

Valon Berisha was also brought into the first XI in that match, but the hosts are likely to be without Aiden O'Neill once again due to injury, which kept him out of the previous game.

Joe Lolley was a surprise inclusion into the Sydney FC matchday squad last week after he headed into the game as an injury concern, and after making an appearance from the bench he could be an option from the first minute this time around.

Robert Mak was another who came through late due to a fitness concern, but was not able to play the whole 90 minutes, but after more training time that could be different this time around.

Melbourne City possible starting lineup:
Glover; Talbot, Lam, Good, Bos; Berenguer-Bohrer, Berisha, Van der Venne; Leckie, Maclaren, Tilio

Sydney FC possible starting lineup:
Redmayne; Grant, Rodwell, Wilkinson, King; Caceres, Brattan, Retre, Mak; Burgess, Le Fondre

We say: Melbourne City 2-1 Sydney FC

There is going to be very little to split these two teams on Friday night, as has been the case throughout their previous three meetings this year, and it could be a cagey affair due to how much is on the line.

However, with the home crowd backing them and their undefeated record in this stadium, Melbourne City could just edge this.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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