Macarthur vs Sydney Prediction: Bulls bad boy Brattan out to unsettle Sky Blues again

Local rivals Macarthur FC and Sydney FC meet for the second time this season on Saturday (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 1), with the Bulls looking to exact revenge on the Sky Blues following their 2-0 defeat in November's reverse fixture at Allianz Stadium.

Below are my Macarthur vs Sydney predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this weekend's Australian A-League Men's meeting at Campbelltown Stadium.

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Team News

Ji Dong-won (ankle), Sebastian Krslovic and Harry Politidis (both unspecified) are out injured for Macarthur, who will also be without the suspended Tomsilav Uskok. The 34-year-old picked up a late yellow in Monday's 1-1 draw against Auckland FC at Campbelltown Stadium, where he struck his side's equaliser.

Uskok is likely to be replaced in Mile Sterjovski's starting XI by another veteran centre-back, 36-year-old Matthew Jurman, or 37-year-old Damien Da Silva.

Football Odds

Gus Hoefsloot (wrist) and Joe Lolley (hamstring) are out injured for Sydney, who will also be without Mathias Macallister, with the 18-year-old on international duty with Australia at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Macarthur vs Sydney Odds

Macarthur are 15/8 to record a first victory over Sydney since November 2024, implying a 34.8% probability of success, while the visitors are 23/20, or a 46.5% chance, to claim maximum points at Campbelltown Stadium for the second season running.

The draw is available at 12/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7.

Player to Receive a Card - Luke Brattan (MAC) @ 9/4

This was a winning selection in November's 2-0 win for Sydney, with former Sky Blues midfielder Luke Brattan booked in the 80th minute at Allianz Stadium. I successfully backed the bet at 15/8 in my Sydney-Macarthur preview, so I'm looking to make it two from two this weekend.

No player has been shown more yellows in this season's ALM than Brattan (five), who served a suspension on New Year's Day after picking up his fifth caution of the campaign in Macarthur's final game of 2025, a 5-4 victory over Newcastle Jets on Boxing Day.

The 35-year-old returned to the side for Monday's 1-1 draw with Auckland, committing one foul but managing to avoid a booking.

Today's Football Fixtures

Brattan received 33 yellows and one red (league only) during his four-season stay at Sydney before linking up with the Bulls at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign, picking up seven yellows in 26 league appearances, one of which came against the Sky Blues in a 2-0 defeat to them at Campbelltown Stadium in March.

The Hull-born, Australia-raised midfielder is averaging 1.4 fouls per game in this season's ALM, and on Saturday, he's likely to be in a middle-of-the-park battle with Paul Okon-Engstler, who is averaging 1.4 fouls won per game in 2025/26.

Match Result - Macarthur @ 15/8

Sydney won both head-to-heads last year, triumphing 2-0 at Campbelltown Stadium in March before winning by the same scoreline at home a little over eight months later.

However, while Ufuk Talay's side are tied with Macarthur on 12 points and have two games in hand on the Bulls, they've picked up just one point from their last two matches, losing 2-0 at Newcastle Jets on December 20 before drawing 0-0 at Melbourne City last Saturday.

Macarthur, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions (six in the ALM), winning two of their last three. Only Perth Glory (0-2, November 30) have beaten the Bulls at Campbelltown Stadium this season, and Sterjovski's charges showed their mental resolve earlier this week as they came from a goal down to draw with reigning Premier's Plate champions Auckland.

Both of Sydney's goalscorers in last season's corresponding fixture, Patryk Klimala and Adrian Segecic, departed the club before the start of the new campaign, and star man Lolley, who struck his side's second in November's reverse fixture, is injured for this weekend's trip to Campbelltown Stadium.

The Sky Blues have scored just three goals across their last five matches and have blanked in their last two, while the Bulls have conceded one or fewer in nine of their 12 league contests this term, so if the hosts score twice, you fancy them to pick up all three points on Saturday.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW11)

 P/L: +10.5%