Football
ESPN staff 9y

Sydney FC coach Arnold warns Wanderers ahead of A-League derby

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has given his Western Sydney Wanderers' counterpart Tony Popovic a backhanded compliment to stoke the intense rivalry ahead of Saturday's derby in the A-League.

Although Western Sydney sit at the bottom of the table with only one win in 16 matches, they began their AFC Champions League (ACL) defence with a stunning 3-1 away victory over J.League powerhouses Kashima Antlers on Wednesday night.

But Arnold has warned the AFC club of the year to expect a much different challenge at Parramatta Stadium against the fifth-placed Sydney FC.

"They continue to represent Australia brilliantly, but I think it shows the ACL is a much slower game than the A-League," Arnold told Fox Sports Australia.

"The A-League is more about transition -- teams defend with six and attack with four. I watched the game and you've got to give full credit to the Wanderers, they were fantastic."

Western Sydney became the first Australian club to win the ACL when they defeated Saudi Arabia giants Al-Hilal in last November's final.

Coach Popovic will likely bring in Kerem Bulut and Yusuke Tanaka as injury replacements for Brendon Santalab and Shannon Cole for Saturday's game.

There's no love lost between the two clubs from Australia's largest city. The last derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw three months ago, saw Sydney FC accusing Western Sydney of deliberately injuring their Iraqi midfielder Ali Abbas.

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