“But it’s their style, the style is clear – It’s Sydney FC style. I’m not surprised by the style, they play all the games in the same shape, the same philosophy, so that’s why we prepare our game well.

“Against this team, we have to find a balance because it’s a team that’s good offensively, with good combined movement, but they have a weakness when they lose the ball.”

Aiding in City’s quest to counter the ‘Nix will be the continued incorporation of Markel Susaeta into their line-up. 

The Athletic Bilbao veteran made his third successive start for his new club in the win over Victory, taking up a position on the wing and playing a full 90 minutes for the first time in Australia.

“He’s getting better physically every week,” City’s gaffer said. “He’s really a good player, very smart, very mobile – he is a perfect player in our style of play.

“Maybe in the future, he will change position, maybe he is more interesting to have this player in the middle future.”

“With [his] talent and his experience, I think [he can be the best player in the league when fully fit]. Not too many players have played more than 500 games in La Liga.

“He’s adapted well to our style of play.

“I want to congratulate him because he hasn’t had much time to prepare, he started to play very early.

“[He’s been] amazing, because he didn’t have too many sessions with us.

“We’ll see. I’m sure we haven’t seen the real Markel Susaeta yet.”