Melbourne City - Newcastle Jets Preview

Melbourne City and Newcastle Jets will open Remembrance Round on Thursday night with both sides looking to bounce back from defeat.

SQUADS

Melbourne City squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (gk), 2.Manny MUSCAT, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Osama MALIK, 8.Neil KILKENNY, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 12.Nick FITZGERALD, 14.Daniel ARZANI, 17.Tim CAHILL, 18.Paulo RETRE, 20.Dean BOUZANIS (gk), 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Bruno FORNAROLI (c), 27.Fernando BRANDAN

**two to be omitted**

Ins: 4.Connor CHAPMAN (promoted), 14.Daniel ARZANI (promoted), 21.Ruon TONGYIK (promoted)

Outs:  26.Luke BRATTAN (international duty – 1 week)

Unavailable: 7.Corey GAMEIRO (ACL – season), 9.Nicholas COLAZO (ear – 1 week), 28.Steve KUZMANOVSKI (ACL – season)

Newcastle Jets squad: 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Mateo POLJAK, 9.Aleksandr KOKKO, 10.Wayne BROWN, 11.Labinot HALITI, 13.Ivan VUJICA, 15.Andrew NABBOUT, 16.Nicholas COWBURN, 18.MA Leilei, 19.Morten NORDSTRAND, 20.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 23.Devante CLUT, 27.Caio DE GODOY, 28.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 40.Jim FOGARTY (gk)

**two to be omitted**

Ins: 11.Labinot HALITI (promoted), 18.MA Leilei (promoted)

Outs: Nil

Unavailable: 1.Ben KENNEDY (gk) (Achilles – season), 2.Daniel MULLEN (knee – 6-8 weeks), 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (knee – 3-4 weeks), 21.Daniel ALESSI (knee – season), 22.Lachlan JACKSON (ankle – 3-4 weeks)

BLUFFER'S GUIDE

City and Newcastle started the 2016-17 A-League season in promising style, but with the Jets having lost their past two matches and Bruno Fornaroli and Co. having suffered two defeats in three games there are some concerns for both John van 't Schip and Mark Jones.

Van 't Schip's men continue to be the poster boys for inconsistency.

City have defeated Melbourne Victory twice this season - once in the FFA Cup - and overcome reigning champions Adelaide United but when faced with other title contenders in Perth Glory and, most recently, Brisbane Roar they have lost.

Last week, City had over 65 per cent possession and passed the ball 488 times to Brisbane's 314.

But Roar were far more effective with the ball, ending the game with eight shots to City's three at Suncorp Stadium, including Jamie Maclaren's winning goal, with the visitors failing to test Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theo.

City's best is scintillating but if they're to win their maiden piece of A-League silverware this season - they reportedly have the most expensive squad in the competition's history - they must learn to grind out results.

Newcastle were unbeaten in their first three games but have lost their past two against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.

Having looked dangerous on the counterattack to begin the season, the last fortnight has generally seen the Jets struggle to break out of defence with any real verve.

Only Perth Glory have had less possession than Jones' men so far this season, while only Central Coast Mariners have faced more shots per game.

Injuries have played their part in the Jets' consecutive defeats with defensive-minded quartet Daniel Mullen, Ben Kantarovski, Daniel Alessi and Lachlan Jackson all on the sidelines, but the promotion of Chinese midfielder Ma Leilei and veteran striker Labinot Haliti could provide a spark in Melbourne.

City will be without Luke Brattan, who is away with the Socceroos in Thailand, with Anthony Caceres and Osama Malik the main options to replace the midfielder.

ROUTE TO GOAL

Brattan will be a big loss to City, as the former Brisbane Roar midfielder, sits behind only Dimas (204) of Western Sydney Wanderers in terms of passes completed this season with 179.

Luckily for Van 't Schip, Neil Kilkenny - who has generally played as a pseudo defender this season - has almost matched Brattan with 175 completed passes and could be called upon to play further forward against Newcastle.

Up front, Fornaroli leads the A-League for goals (4) and shots (19), while the Jets' main marksman has been captain and central defender Nigel Boogaard (2).

Newcastle's shooting accuracy of 35.9 per cent is the second worst in the A-League with central strikers Morten Nordstrand and Aleksandr Kokko having yet to open their accounts for the season.