PS4 NPL NSW Round 8 Preview

Round 8 of the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition has arrived and we are now more than a third of the way through the season.

Blacktown City FC and Rockdale City Suns remain the only undefeated sides but it is APIA Leichhardt Tigers who hold top spot after eight weeks.

Manly United and Sydney Olympic are hot on the tail of the competition front runners in fourth and fifth respectively. How Olympic bounce back after the shock resignation of coach Jaime Monroy this week will define their season.

The battle for finals spots is heating up with every competition point valuable.

This week's match of the round features Blacktown City taking on Manly United in a Saturday night clash at Lily's Football Centre.

 

Blacktown City FC v Manly United FC, 7pm Saturday at Lily's Football Centre

An unbeaten start to the season has Blacktown CIty FC in great shape ahead of a blockbuster clash with Manly United on Saturday.

City were forced to cling on against a fast finishing Sydney Olympic FC at Belmore last week but were able to get the job done.

Central Defenders Shayne D'Cunha and Zach Cairncross were late omissions from the starting line-up against Olympic but are expected to start this week.

Danny Choi is starting to find form again and the pace of new signing James Andrew has also caused trouble for opposition sides.

Manly come into the match with an injury cloud around veteran striker Dylan Macallister who was forced off early against Rockdale City Suns last week.

Warren Grieve's side will rue last week's 3-3 draw against Rockdale which they lead 3-1 with six minutes to go.

Expect a much-improved performance in what is sure to be an entertaining matchup.

 

Sutherland Sharks FC v Wollongong Wolves FC, 6.30pm Saturday at Seymour Shaw

Sutherland Sharks notched their first win of the year last week and will be pumped up to make it two from two against southern rivals Wollongong Wolves.

A 3-2 win against Bonnyrigg White Eagles pushed the Sharks off the bottom of the table and coach Carlos Villazon is sure to build on the quality performance.

Young gun striker Jeremy Cox was the star of the show notching up a double and will be looked at as one of the go to players on Saturday.

Wollongong Wolves returned to the winners circle in round seven with the returning Peter Simonovski and former Japan international Yuzo Tashiro finding the back of the net.

Tashiro has been an inspired addition to Wollongong's team this season and will once again be the man to watch this week.

 

Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Rockdale City Suns, 7pm Saturday at Bonnyrigg Sports Club

Nothing less than three points will be enough for Bonnyrigg White Eagles as they set out to notch their first win of the season when they host Rockdale City Suns on Saturday.

While it has been a difficult season so far for the White Eagles, Brian Brown's team should not be taken lightly.

Rockdale made a miraculous escape against Manly last week to nab a 3-3 draw despite trailing by two goals with only ten minutes to play.

Suns Player coach Paul Reid will demand an improved showing against a Bonnyrigg team fighting to move from the bottom of the table.

 

Sydney United 58 FC v Parramatta FC, 4pm Sunday at Sydney United Sports Centre

The horror start to the season has been forgotten and a winning mentality has been restored at Sydney United 58.

This week the Reds host Parramatta FC and will have nothing other than continuing their winning streak when Franco Cosentino's team come to Sydney United Sports Centre.

Mark Rudan has turned things around at the club with Sydney FC feeling their wrath with a convincing 4-0 victory at Lambert Park.

Nick Olsen proved that he is back on track for the year with a great performance while it was pleasing to see Matt Sim hit the back of the net.

Gosue Sama found the back of the net from the penalty spot for Parramatta in a disapointing performance against APIA Leichhardt Tigers last round.

The boys from Melita Stadium will need to lift their game to avoid suffering a third consecutive loss.

 

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 4.45pm Sunday at Lambert Park

APIA Leichhardt Tigers have been the team to beat so far this season with six wins from seven matches.

Danial Cummins side set out to make it seven wins when they host Sydney Olympic on Sunday.

APIA has performed impressively with the side finding the killer instinct it missed in 2016.

Striker Matthew West has been a revelation off the bench in the Lambert Park side’s past two games with three goals.

For Olympic, their next few matches could define their season after coach Jaime Monroy’s shock resignation on Tuesday.

The club moved quickly to appoint Peter Zorbas as the interim coach and he will need to use all his experience in steering the Blues to victory after going down for the first time last weekend.

Olympic has played an attractive possession based style this season which helped the Belmore side stay undefeated for the first six rounds of the year.

Defeat at the hands of Blacktown City ended their impressive run but Olympic remain one of the form teams of the competition.

Nothing less than a 90-minute performance from either side will be enough to claim the three points on Sunday.

 

Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Sydney FC, 5pm Sunday at Hensley Athletic Field

A return to the familiar surrounds of Hensley Athletic field could spur Hakoah Sydney City East to another win when they host Sydney FC.

Player coach Gavin Rae's Hakoah team will be reeling after a difficult trip to Wollongong and a 2-0 loss to the Wollongong Wolves. A win against Sydney FC will put the eastern suburbs boys back on track for a shot at the top five.

Andre De Jong's return to the Hakoah line-up has boosted the side's attack while Aleks Lekoski has also impressed.

Sydney FC conceded four goals in a one-sided affair at Lambert park last round as they were defeated 4-0 by Sydney United 58.

The young Sky Blues need a morale booster and nothing is more effective than a win.

It will be a tight affair with both teams evenly matched.