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Western Sydney Wanderers host Macarthur FC in the A-League at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday.
This is a local derby, and a great way for Macarthur to begin life as an A-League club.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, A-League teams based in New South Wales (including Wellington Phoenix) will not travel outside the state for the first month of the competition.
Teams from the rest of Australia will not come into the state. This means that both Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur will be playing in Sydney for the foreseeable future.
In their debut A-League season, Macarthur have made some important purchases. Experienced Aussie Mark Milligan joined from English League Two club Southend United and has been named captain.
In addition, Markel Susaeta has made the move from Melbourne City FC. He is joined by Matt Derbyshire, Benat Etxebarria and Loic Puyo as their foreigners for the season.
Western Sydney Wanderers have had a poor few seasons in the A-League, having missed out on finals football for the last three years.
Wanderers are led by ex-Newcastle Jets head coach Carl Robinson. They have made important additions to their squad, bringing in players like James Troisi. They have also signed former Jets striker Bernie Ibini.
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Macarthur FC Head-to-Head
This will be the first game between Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur FC in the A-League, with the latter making their debut in the league on Wednesday.
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Macarthur FC Team News
Western Sydney Wanderers
Robinson is likely to use a 4-3-3 system for the Wanderers, who do not have any concerns regarding the fitness of any players.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Macarthur FC
There are no known injury concerns at the moment for Macarthur, who could set up with a strong midfield combination of Benat and Milligan. That would provide them with experience and know-how in the middle of the park.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Macarthur FC Predicted XI
Western Sydney Wanderers Predicted XI (4-3-3): Ziggy Gordon; Tate Russell, Dylan McGowan, Tass Mourdoukoutas, Daniel Georgievski; Graham Dorrans, James Troisi, Keanu Baccus; Nicolai Muller, Bernie Ibini, Simon Cox
Macarthur FC Predicted XI (4-3-3): Adam Federici; Ivan Franjic, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Aleksandar Susnjar, Walter Scott; Benat Etxebarria, Mark Milligan, Liam Rose; Markel Susaeta, Matt Derbyshire, Moudi Najjar
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Macarthur FC Prediction
Despite the fact that Macarthur are a new team, they should be expected to give a good account of themselves in this game, especially against a rebuilding Western Sydney Wanderers team.
We predict that this game will be an entertaining draw.
Prediction: Western Sydney Wanderers 2-2 Macarthur FC
