Sydney FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers Prediction: Sky Blues to send bitter rivals packing

The Sydney derby rarely disappoints as a spectacle, either off the pitch or on the field, and Saturday's contest between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers has all the hallmarks of another classic at the Sydney Football Stadium. Just a single point separates East and West, with this weekend's hosts currently holding the advantage in the race for the play-offs.

Below we have noted all the latest team news and match odds for this match-up between two bitter rivals, which can be watched live in the UK on TNT Sports 7 from 10:45, and given our Sydney FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers prediction.

Team News

Sydney FC will be missing the influential Robert Mak - who has scored six league goals this season - as a result of the red card he was given in Newcastle last week.

Jake Girdwood-Reich served his own one-game ban in that defeat but will miss out again as he has been called up by the Olyroos for the AFC U23 Asian Cup, which kicks off early next week. Jordan Courtney-Perkins has also been included in the Olyroos squad.

Meanwhile, Patrick Wood, Joe Lacey and Gus Hoefsloot are all still sidelined through injury.

WSW have lost a couple of players themselves to the Olyroos, with Lachlan Brook and Nicolas Milanovic both called up by head coach Tony Vidmar for the competition in Qatar.

The duo started last week's defeat to Brisbane Roar so will have to be replaced in the starting XI, most likely by Marcus Antonsson and Dylan Pierias, though veteran midfielder Milos Ninkovic will also be desperate to get the nod against his old club after his controversial cross-city switch in 2022.

Match Odds

Sydney FC are 3/5 to secure a second victory of the campaign over their rivals, who are 10/3 to do the same. That gives them an implied win probability of 62.5% and 23.1% respectively, while the draw can be backed at 3/1.

There were five goals in March's meeting, four in favour of Sydney FC and one for WSW - it's 9/4 for over 4.5 goals and 4/9 for both teams to score again.

Sydney FC to win & over 2.5 goals @ 21/20

This is a selection that has landed in two of the last three meetings between the great rivals, with Sydney FC winning 2-1 in May 2023 and 4-1 just over a month ago. Those victories both came at the CommBank Stadium, so it's about time they get the three points on their own patch, which they have failed to do in the previous three head-to-heads there.

Sydney FC's form at the Sydney Football Stadium has been pretty strong this season - only three clubs have picked up more points at home - though they will be wary given WSW's away showings have been impressive in the main, with only Central Coast Mariners accruing more points on the road.

Regardless, we have seen some pretty shocking displays from the Wanderers, including a 7-0 hammering at the hands of Melbourne City on March 12.

The Sky Blues weren't exactly impressive in a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle Jets last week, but they can bounce back this Saturday and book their spot in the play-offs.

The hosts will be missing key players like Mak and Girdwood-Reich, but I think the absences of Brook and Milanovic will hurt the Wanderers more.

Home win, and we should see plenty of goals again with only Adelaide United scoring more than Sydney FC this season, and only Macarthur conceding more than WSW in the top six.

Sydney FC half-time/full-time @ 7/5

Sydney FC flew out the traps in this fixture last month, scoring twice in the first seven minutes, and they can make another fast start on Saturday.

Ufuk Talay's side have been leading at half-time in seven of their last 10 matches, though they only managed to hold on for the win in three of them.

WSW started the last Sydney derby slowly and were slack again last week as Brisbane Roar went in front before half-time and ended up beating the Wanderers 2-1 on their own patch.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.