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Sydney FC's Holosko to return for derby

Sydney FC winger Ali Abbas is the only player unavailable for coach Graham Arnold for this week's local derby against Western Sydney.

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has confirmed that marquee signing Filip Holosko will return for next week's local derby against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Holosko was rested in Saturday night's 1-0 win over Newcastle with a hamstring complaint but is set to be inserted straight back into the line-up for the highly-anticipated clash.

"He could've played tonight, but a hamstring is always something that you leave one week longer than pushing him," Arnold said.

Holosko's return leaves winger Ali Abbas as the only player unavailable on the Sky Blues roster, giving Arnold a big selection headache this week.

Abbas himself is nearing a comeback after tearing his ACL early last season.

"(Physio) Andrew Clark is killing my life at the moment because he's so good at keeping and making people fit that I've got to make all these hard choices and disappoint so many players in the dressing room," Arnold said.

In contrast, key Wanderers Alberto Aguilar, Shannon Cole, Mark Bridge and Brendan Santalab have yet to play a minute this season.

Last year's grand finalists will enter their meeting with the Wanderers oozing confidence following a last-ditch win over the Jets.

Arnold's men looked headed for a frustrating scoreless draw until skipper Alex Brosque nodded home an 89th minute header to snatch their first victory of the season.

The win also marked the first time in A-League history that a team has gone undefeated in 16 straight away games.

However Arnold said the record counted for little when they host the reigning Asian champions next Saturday.

"Our away form's always good, but we've got to fix up our home form," he said.

The former Central Coast manager will be looking for an improvement in their attacking third, which found the back of the net just once against the Jets despite enjoying over 60 per cent of the possession.

However Arnold believed it wouldn't be a problem against the Wanderers.

"The field will be nice and quick, 44,000 (fans) there welcoming the Wanderers into our mansion, and it's going to be a fantastic occasion," he said.

"It's a sporting event on the Australian sporting calendar that everyone looks forward to."

Sydney are undefeated in their past four derbies, winning three.

Saturday's match is the first of three derbies between the cross-town rivals this season.


3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



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