Sydney FC Head Coach Graham Arnold has confirmed there will be changes to his squad as he prepares to travel to Hunter Stadium to face the Newcastle Jets on Friday night (kick off 7:40pm).
Arnold confirmed Sydney Derby match winner, Terry Antonis, would return to the starting eleven with Mickael Tavares and Alex Gersbach suspended as he said he expects a tough encounter against a new look Jets side.
“Terry will start obviously in midfield,” Arnold said.
“Faty won’t be back yet, he’s got another week, so we have a few out but thankfully we’ve got depth. To have someone like Terry Antonis to come into the starting line-up is great for us, he’s fantastic, we’re delighted that he’s here and he’s got a huge future.
“We have Tavares and Gersbach out suspended so we have to make a couple of changes but we need to go up there with the right mentality, it’s a tough game always when you play Newcastle away.
“I think that the Jets have nothing to lose and we only have to go up there and worry about ourselves,” he continued.
“The Jets have improved enormously over the last few weeks and Phil has obviously been brave enough to make some very tough decisions.
“You can see that the players are getting more and more behind him and he’s making inroads with that team. We have to go up there with the right mentality.”
The Sky Blues Head Coach said he was pleased with the way the goals were flowing, although he stressed the need for an improved defensive effort, as he praised A-League golden boot leader Marc Janko for his efforts in recent weeks.
“I want to score four every week,” he said.
“I’m happy with a 4-1 or a 5-1, even a 3-2 to get all the points but we need to improve every day as a team.
“The last couple of games where we’ve conceded goals is through the sloppiness of set pieces, we were up 3-0 against the Wanderers and conceded a sloppy set piece. It’s a matter of not switching off at important times.
“I’d back Marc to score every week,” he continued.
“He struggled the first part of the season with fitness but he’s such a handful for his size. The first 10 games some fans may have had question marks over him but it wasn’t all because of him.
“We had to learn how to play how Marc wanted us to play for him, we needed to work how to get the service to him and our service has improved out of sight. He’s having a fantastic season.”
Sydney FC travel to Hunter Stadium to take on the Newcastle Jets on Friday night (kick off 7:40pm). Catch the match live on Fox Sports 4 and SBS ONE or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for live match updates.
Sydney FC’s next home game is against Brisbane Roar on Sunday 15th March at Allianz Stadium (kick off 5pm). Purchase tickets today or become a Member and ensure you don’t miss a moment of Hyundai A-League action by heading to www.ticketek.com.au/sydneyfc
