The Round of 16 FFA Cup kicks off tonight with the first four of the eight matches scheduled in the round. For Melbourne City and Socceroos fans, it may mark the first-ever appearance of star recruit Tim Cahill in a senior domestic competition. Melbourne City travels to Perry Park to take on Queensland NPL side Brisbane Strikers.

If Cahill plays, it will be interesting to see how Melbourne City coach John van ‘t Schip deploys his star signing in the City line-up and how he will be accommodated with last season’s Golden Boot winner Bruno Fornaroli.

Set to be a big Wednesday night for soccer fans, City’s cross-town rival and reigning Cup holder Melbourne Victory will take on Hume City in a reprise of last year’s Cup semi-final when the A-League team defeated the NPL club 3-nil at AAMI Park.

In the nation’s capital, Canberra Olympic will be vying for its first-ever quarter final berth with visiting Queensland NPL club Redlands United, in an all-NPL match. Redlands will be confident following its giant slaying feat of last round, when it dumped reigning A-League champion Adelaide United out of the cup with a 2-1 home win.

The fourth Cup match is another all-NPL match, this time a Sydney derby in which Blacktown City hosts Bonnyrigg White Eagles.

The following Wednesday sees the remaining four matches of the round of 16, beginning with another David and Goliath encounter when northern NSW NPL club Edgeworth Eagles hosts Western Sydney Wanderers.

South of the border is the Victorian NPL derby between Melbourne Knights and Green Gully and even further South, across Bass Strait, there’s another all-NPL clash, where the Devonport Strikers host Victorian NPL champions Bentleigh Greens.

The final match of the round features an A-League derby, with Sydney FC travelling west to take on Perth Glory.

If matches go according to script, then four A-League clubs will make it into the FFA Cup quarter-finals. That leaves places for four NPL clubs, unless of course there’s another upset in one of the three NPL-A-League matches, in which case the balance would tip in favour of the NPL clubs.

Source: www.ffacup.com.au