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The Sydney A-League derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers promises to be as intense as it has ever been.
Sydney FC are still dreaming of another premiers plate while Western Sydney are chasing a finals berth, ensuring Saturday's Sydney A-League derby to be as hotly contested as ever.
The second-placed Sky Blues are unbeaten in six games and can draw a point behind Melbourne City and three points ahead of Central Coast with a derby victory at Bankwest Stadium.
The Wanderers, meanwhile, are winless in six games and coming off a 5-4 loss to Melbourne Victory, with Carl Robinson's team outside the top six.
But Western Sydney are also unbeaten in their past five A-League matches against their fierce rivals with two wins and three draws.
It's their longest unbeaten run against the Sky Blues.
"Especially after they've conceded five last game I think they're going to be a lot tighter than they were in that game," Sydney FC coach Steve Corica said.
"It's going to be a difficult game as it is.
"As a derby everyone's going to be up for it, it's going to be passionate, aggressive at times, everyone wants to win this game.
"So we expect more of that. We want to concentrate on what we want to do against them, definitely with the ball, how we want to play but also defensively.
"They have some good attacking players that can score goals and we have to make sure we're on our game defensively."
Saturday's A-League games all have implications in the race for the finals.
Macarthur travel to face Perth, starting a crucial four-game stretch where the A-League newcomers face Glory twice and cellar-dwellers Melbourne Victory twice.
Both the Bulls and Glory are winless in four games, with Macarthur's last victory a 2-0 win over the Glory on April 2.
The Bulls will be without Aleksandar Susnjar (suspension) and Tommy Oar (calf) as they attempt to keep pace with the A-League's top handful.
Meanwhile, Brisbane Roar will attempt to extend their A-League winning streak to four games when they host the similarly resurgent Wellington.
The Roar backed up wins over Macarthur and Western Sydney with an impressive 4-0 defeat of a 10-man Central Coast
Recruit Masato Kudo netted for the first time against the Mariners while full-back Corey Brown will return from suspension on Saturday.
Wellington, who are unbeaten in four games and coming off the announcement they'll play two home games in New Zealand, have named playmaker Reno Piscopo to return from injury.
