A huge test awaits Sydney FC on Saturday, as they hope to capitalise on their next three games and book a place into the finals.

They’ve fallen to seventh place, outside the top six but sitting on equal points with Newcastle Jets at sixth.

Up against Melbourne Victory tonight who sits at a comfortable third and well rested from a break in their Asian Cup campaign, the going will be tough.

Sky Blues coach Frank Farina isn’t being comforted by the team’s previous results against Victory.

Their last meeting, Sydney FC pummeled Victory 5-0 and before that won 3-2.

“Previous results don’t really count for anything, psychologically maybe, but they’ll be fired up particularly after we beat them down there last time,” Farina says.

“So I’m expecting a very difficult match.”

They couldn’t manage a win last week against a stronger Adelaide United, falling 3-1 away. Neither could Melbourne Victory, falling 1-0 against plate winners Brisbane Roar.

Brisbane Roar with a whopping 10 points ahead of second placed Western Sydney Wanderers achieved their second Premier’s Plate in three seasons last week.

They were helped there by young Dimitri Petratos who has shown himself an extremely valuable player amongst the more experienced ones in the team.
Petratos had two shots that could have given the Roar a much bigger margin if Melbourne Victory’s goalkeeper wasn’t picking up the defensive slack.

They played against Melbourne Heart last night with ease knowing they will have a smooth ride till the finals.

Eighth on the ladder, Wellington Phoenix needs to win almost all of their next matches to make it into the top six, but have to come up against a strong Adelaide United for this round.

United coach Josep Gombau will be hoping to see his side take their form to another level heading into the finals as they hope to capitalise on Phoenix’s injury depleted squad.

One of the blockbuster matches this week will be against Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners, harking back to the last season.

The grand final rematch will see Central Coast hoping for a win again, as they keep the momentum going with three wins in their past four matches in all competitions.

But the Wanderers have not lost to Central Coast since the 2013 Grand Final with the first encounter this season ending in a draw before Western Sydney won the second fixture 2-0.