Head-to-head
Ten A-League meetings: Sydney - 5 wins, Central Coast - 3 wins, 2 draws
Pre-Season Cup meetings: Sydney 1 win, Central Coast 1 win

Previous meeting
Central Coast Mariners 4, Sydney FC 5, Bluetongue Stadium, Round 15, December 2007

Pre-season Cup Results
Central Coast:
Round 1: Wellington Phoenix 1, Central Coast Mariners 0, Westpac Stadium Sunday July 20

Sydney
Round 1: Sydney FC 2, Queensland Roar 1, Campbelltown Stadium, Saturday July 19

Previous Pre-season Cup Results
Central Coast:
2007: Fourth (Lost to Queensland 3-1 in third-place playoff)
2006: Runners-up (Lost 5-4 on pens to Adelaide in final)
2005: Champions (Defeated Perth 1-0 in final)

Previous Pre-season Cup Results
Sydney:
2007: Seventh (Defeated Melbourne 1-0 in seventh-place playoff)
2006: Third (Defeated Newcastle 2-0 in third-place playoff)
2005: Semi-final (Lost to Perth 1-0 in semi-final)

Analysis
These two teams have one of the fiercest rivalries in the A-League, honed by their Grand Final clash in season one, and built on the epic nine-goal clash between the two last year. In a match regarded as the most extraordinary in the A-League's short history, Sydney prevailed 5-4 thanks to a 95th minute penalty from Ufuk Talay.

It's amazing how things can change over such a short time and none of the four players who scored goals for Central Coast in that match played in last week's loss to Wellington. That defeat would have been disappointing for Lawrie McKinna, seeing those two teams finished at opposite ends of the table last season. Admittedly McKinna was short of his full squad and lost Ahmad Elrich before the match with an ankle injury. Elrich should play this weekend but Dean Heffernan's rotten luck has continued and he is out indefinitely with an ankle injury of his own.

Dylan McAllister looked good on debut, while Adrian Caceres will prove a very useful acquisition after making his appearance for his third A-League club. Mark Bosnich will play in this match in a move which will no doubt get a few more people through the gates.

Sydney coach John Kosmina would have been delighted with Chris Payne and Mitchell Prentice's first appearances in sky blue. Payne, 17, scored an excellent goal, while Prentice, brought across from Perth in the off-season, also found the net.

John Aloisi will miss at least another five weeks with an ankle injury, while Tony Popovic remains sidelined. Robbie Middleby is available and should play.

Central Coast Mariners Squad
2. Andre GUMPRECHT, 5. Bradley PORTER, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 10. Adrian CACERES, 11. Dylan MACALLISTER, 15. Andrew CLARK, 17. Matthew OSMAN, 18. Alex WILKINSON, 20. Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 21. Ahmed ELRICH, 22. Sasho PETROVSKI, 24. David D'APUZZO, 25. Nik MRDJA, 30. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), Mark BOSNICH

In: Mark BOSNICH
Out: 8. Dean HEFFERNAN (Ankle – Indefinite).

Unavailable: 8. Dean HEFFERNAN (Ankle – Indefinite), 12. Greg OWENS (Hamstring – Indefinite), 13. Paul O'GRADY (Achilles – Indefinite), 16. Nigel BOOGAARD (International Duty), 19. Matt SIMON (International Duty), 23. Mile JEDINAK (Groin – Indefinite).

Sydney FC Squad
1. Clint Bolton (gk), 2. Iain Fyfe, 3. Nick Tsattalios, 4. Simon Colosimo, 5. Mitchell Prentice, 7.Robbie Middleby, 10. Steve Corica, 14. Alex Brosque, 15. Terry McFlynn, 16. Chris Payne, 17. Jacob Timpano, 18. Adam Casey, 20. Ivan Necevski (gk), 21. Adam Biddle, 24. Ryan Walsh.

In: N/A

Out: John Aloisi (injured), Tony Popovic (injured), Brendon Santalab (injured) and Mike Enfield (injured).

Unavailable: Stuart Musialik (Olyroo duty) and Mark Bridge (Olyroo duty).