The following is a preview with betting advice for the Grand Final of the 2020 NPL NSW season.
 |
Rockdale City Suns FC vs Sydney United 58 FC3pm/ SUN 25th OCT @ Marconi Stadium |
 |
This Season- After the conclusion of the regular season, Rockdale finished the season in 1st, whilst Sydney United came in 3rd. Each side posted 7 wins a piece. Rockdale also drew 3 games and lost 1. As for Sydney, they drew 1 and lost 3. Rockdale finished up on 24 points from their 11 clashes and United on 22. Rockdale scored 20 goals and conceded just 9! Significantly the fewest in the competition. Whilst United scored 26 and leaked 20. And form-wise headed into this massive clash, Rockdale are simply on fire as of late. They have won 4 of their past 5 clashes, with the other being a draw. And for Sydney, their form has seen them win 3, draw 1 and lose 1.
Rockdale cruised to an easy 3-0 victory over Sydney United last round to book their spot in the Grand Final. Whilst for Sydney, they overcame the Wolves 3-1, in what was a fairly fiery affair. Rockdale’s 3 goals came via Neil in the 29th min, a Wada spot-kick in the 43rd and a Casella strike in the 56th. And Sydney’s strikes were produced courtesy of an Antelmi penalty in the 15th min, Trifiro in the 74th and Sim in the 84th. Whilst their red card was given to Antelmi in the 43rd, as was the one also handed to James of Woolongong. Prior to this, Rockdale were victorious 1-0 over Marconi. And Sydney United FC also 1-0, their’s being over the North Shore Mariners. Fair to say each side has plenty of form headed into this huge clash!
Key Statistics/ Facts- Rockdale have been Champions 3 times and Premiers 4 times in NSW. For Sydney, they’ve been both Champions and Premiers in NSW countless times. In the NPL alone, they were champions in both 2013 and more recently 2016. Both sides have an illustrious history that they will be aiming to add to by winning this clash.
In this campaigns top 20 Goal Scorers, Rockdale have 3 players within that category. They are headlined by Gauthier with 6 goals. Then they have Wada with 5 and Urosevski with 4. And for Sydney, they have 2 lads in that list. Those being Antelmi in 2nd with 10 goals and Sim with 5. With all those guys bar Antelmi due to his red, how crucial will they be for their sides in Sunday’s big clash? With both sides massive potential, Imma guess pretty DAMN BIG!
Key Player- Matthew Sim. He started of his professional career by scoring 19 goals in 70 appearances for Manly United. Fast-forward a bit and he played in 36 games for the Mariners of the A-League, where he managed to score twice. Then he also represented the Red & Black of the Wanderers. He even played in South Africa and is now at Sydney. He’s scored 18 times from 70 games for them (all according to Wikipedia). He knows how to find the back of the net and he can capably do so for big clubs! And with Antelmi ruled out due to suspension, he is his sides only real, legitimate goal-scoring threat. So he’ll absolutely have to use everything he’s got to get the attack flowing for his side on Sunday. They’ll start as underdogs in this one, but if he can get an early goal or help to carve one out, then he’ll give his side a fair chance of claiming the upset W.
Betting Advice- Bet on Rockdale to win this clash at $2.20 (bet365). After all they did finish 1st for a reason ;).