Round 4 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition has arrived and it is sure to be another huge week of fixtures.
Sydney Olympic’s flawless start to the campaign has them in top spot but the chasing pack is hot on their tail.
It is the same in the contest for finals places with only one game between first and ninth.
This week’s matches will kick off with two games on Friday night as APIA Leichhardt host Sydney FC, while Manly United take on Sydney Olympic.
On Saturday, Marconi Stallions go up against Western Sydney Wanderers and Mt Druitt face off against Sydney United 58.
The round wraps up with two games on Sunday afternoon as Wollongong play host to North Shore Mariners and Rockdale Ilinden close out the weekend’s action against Blacktown City.
APIA Leichhardt FC v Sydney FC, 7pm Friday at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt has had a tough start to the rebooted season and will be determined to get back on track with a win against a high-flying Sydney FC at Lambert Park on Friday.
The John Calleja coached side secured their first win since the restart last weekend with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Western Sydney Wanderers.
However, they will need to take their game to a new level this week as they take on a free-scoring Young Sky Blues outfit.
Defence will be the key message from Calleja coming into this contest and APIA’s struggling defence will need to find it’s A-game to stop the league’s best attack.
Thankfully APIA has plenty of talent in the backline with Paul Galimi and Josh Symons all available for selection but the club is sweating on the availability of Themba Muata-Marlow who came up lame following the club’s first victory last Friday.
Nick Stavroulakis was given his marching orders last week leaving the veteran midfielder suspended for this week’s match-up alongside David D’Apuzzo who is also suspended while Sean Symons may miss the match as his partner is due to give birth.
Keep an eye out for Mitchell Gibbs, a player with huge potential after impressing in his debut for APIA against the Wanderers.
Shot-stopper Luke Turnbull could be in for a busy match against Sydney FC’s in-form frontman Patrick Wood.
Wood scored four goals in Sydney’s 6-1 drubbing of North Shore Mariners in Round 3 taking his season tally to 6.
Sydney FC suffered their first defeat of the season on Wednesday night as they went down 2-0 to Sydney Olympic in their rescheduled Round 2 clash where they played the remainder of the forty minutes after their round 2 clash was postponed due to wet weather.
Coach Jim van Weeren will have his young squad ready to go despite the short turnaround as they look to return to winning ways.
APIA will be favourites for this match but Sydney FC have shown they can match it with every team in the competition.
Manly United v Sydney Olympic FC, 7.45 pm Friday at Cromer Park.
With home ground advantage on their side, Manly United will be out to cause an upset when ladder leaders Sydney Olympic come to Cromer Park on Friday night.
Big news from the Manly camp was Paul Dee stepping down from his head coach role, being replaced by assistant and former Socceroo Adam Griffiths.
It will be Dee’s final match in charge against the Blues and he is hoping the boys can send him off on a winning note.
Manly have yet to taste victory this season with two draws and a loss from their opening three games.
However, the biggest issue facing Manly has been their inability to find the back of the net.
Manly have not scored a goal in three games since the season reboot and are desperately searching for answers for their scoring woes.
The pressure will be on attacking stars Brendan Cholakian, Dejan Pandurevic, Marley Peterson to find their touch.
It couldn’t be any more different for their opponents Sydney Olympic who are scoring and winning with ease.
Olympic defeated Blacktown City 2-1 in Round 3 with striker Charles Lokolingoy finding the back of the net twice and backed it up on Wednesday night with a 2-0 win against Sydney FC.
Goals from Hagi Gligor and Peter Kekeris sealed the victory for Ante Juric’s squad who have been the team to beat thus far.
Not only will Manly need to stop Lokolingoy, but they will also need to contain Fabio Ferreira and Adam Parkhouse.
Olympic will be favourites for this match but Cromer Park is a hard place to play and Manly will use that as much to their advantage.
Marconi Stallions v Western Sydney Wanderers, 4 pm Saturday at Marconi Stadium
It will be a Western Sydney derby as Marconi Stallions host Western Sydney Wanderers at Marconi Stallions on Saturday.
Marconi have won two of their first three games including a gritty away victory against Wollongong Wolves last round.
Stallions attacker Anthony Frangie is playing some of his best football at the moment and will be someone the Wanderers will need to keep an eye on.
Mitch Mallia is another player finding form for Marconi and was unlucky not to have found himself on the scoresheet in Round 3.
The Speranza brothers Giorgio and Roberto are also showing their experience at this level balancing the squad in the backline alongside Nathan Millgate while the club was happy to see Marty Fernandez return back from injury.
Western Sydney have had a frustrating first three games with only one point to show for their efforts but have played some fantastic free flowing football under the watchful eye of coach Arthur Diles.
The Wanderers have been slow starters but have bounced back in each of their games with great form in the final twenty minutes.
If the Wanderers can find their feet early then they could be able to cause an upset with a number of young guns in their corner, Rory Jordan, Dean Pelekanos, Mohamed Al Taay, Noah Pagden and Kosta Grozos to name a few, they are sure to give it their all come Saturday.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Sydney United 58, 7 pm Saturday at Popondetta Park
It has been a difficult start to the rebooted season for Mt Druitt Town Rangers and they will be determined to get their campaign back on track with a win at home against Sydney United 58 on Saturday.
The Rangers suffered a 3-0 loss against Rockdale in Round 3 and were outclassed in both attack and defence.
Coach Franco Cosentino will be hoping he can get his team firing on all cylinders to bounce back this week.
Experienced defender Travis Oughtred should be in for a big game as he leads the backline against United 58 side which is full of confidence after a run of good results.
United claimed their second win from as many games last week with a 2-0 victory against Manly.
Their midfield trio of Glen Trifiro, Tariq Maia and Matt Sim has found another level in recent weeks and it has shown in the club’s performances while Matthew Bilic has also found some form.
The Zeljko Kalac coached side will believe they can make it three wins in a row and will be hard to stop.
Wollongong Wolves v North Shore Mariners, 2.30 pm Sunday at Albert Butler Memorial Park
A return to the winner’s circle will be the goal for Wollongong Wolves when they host North Shore Mariners at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday.
The Wolves went down 1-0 against Marconi Stallions last week in what was their first defeat of the rebooted season.
Coach Luke Wilkshire would’ve not been impressed with his side’s lapses in concentration in the loss and is sure to hammer home the importance of keeping composed for the full 90 minutes.
After being held scoreless against the Stallions, Wollongong’s attacking trio of Bul Juach, Lachlan Scott and Takeru Okada will be all pushing to rediscover the teams’ goal-scoring touch against a struggling North Shore defence.
The club is also hoping to get back their star striker Thomas James from his short-term Perth Glory stint.
The Mariners were on the wrong side of a 6-1 drubbing in Round 3 as Sydney FC ran riot at Ilinden Sports Centre last Sunday night.
It was a horror performance from North Shore, and coach Joe Haywood will surely be asking some pretty tough questions of his players in an attempt to find answers for the dismal showing.
They will be hungry to show the loss was only a blip by delivering a huge performance against the Wolves.
Rockdale Ilinden Blacktown City FC, 4 pm Sunday at Ilinden Sports Centre
The battle for top spot on the ladder is heating up and Rockdale Ilinden will be determined to stake their claim for first place with a win against Blacktown City on Sunday.
Rockdale finished last round in first place, however, face stiff competition from Sydney FC and Sydney Olympic who still have a game in hand.
The Steven Zoric coached side has yet to lose a game from their opening three matches of the rebooted season and flexed their attacking muscle last round with a 3-0 victory against Mt Druitt.
Nikola Taneski has stepped up his game since the reboot of the competition commenced while Japanese imports Tomoki Wada and Banri Kanaizumi have quietly become two of the teams most consistent performers.
They will take on a Blacktown City side which will be desperate to get their season back on track after some early wobbles.
While defeat last week against Sydney Olympic was their first loss of the season, City are still yet to win a match after being held to draws in their first two matches of the season.
It’s a record which is sure to concern Blacktown coach Mark Crittenden who had his team firing before the competition shut down in March.
Clinical finishing in front of goal has been lacking from Blacktown with the pressure on Charles Mendy, Mario Shabow and Leroy Jennings to start making the most of the teams’ chances.
Blacktown are a tough team and have enough quality to bounce back but they will need to find their form if they are to slow down Rockdale.
