The 2024 Australia Cup Round of 32 continues on Saturday as A-Leagues teams Perth Glory and Melbourne City lock horns at Sam Kerr Football Centre.
Perth’s Australia Cup Playoff performance will be put to the test when they host 2016 winners Melbourne City.
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Perth Glory FC v Melbourne City FC
Date: 3 August 2024
Time: 5:30 pm Local, 7:30 pm AEST
Venue: Sam Kerr Football Centre
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Last season, the Glory finished last on the A-League Men’s table, winning five games across 27 rounds.
The two-time Australia Cup finalists also did not advance past the 2023 playoffs, losing 4-0 to Macarthur FC in Darwin.
Perth have already gone further than they did in each of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of the competition where they lost in the Playoffs, demonstrating some fluid football in a 4-2 victory over Brisbane Roar to break their Round of 32 drought.
Their opening performance was headlined by 18-year-old winger Abdelelah Faisal who bagged a brace on debut.
The exciting forward ran the Roar defence ragged with pace in behind and willingness to dribble at goal.
Another attacking prospect, Nathanael Blair, scored from the bench on debut with a clever poacher’s finish off a sublime curling cross from David Williams, as he looks to make a name for himself in the A-League Men after a solid NPL Men’s NSW season.
Melbourne City also endured a tough season in 2023/24, falling from a first-place finish and A-League Men Grand Final 2022/23 appearance to an Elimination Final exit.
They did have some joy in the Australia Cup, making the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Sydney FC.
The side have regenerated the squad with last season’s regulars, including A-Leagues all-time leading goalscorer Jamie Maclaren and established centre-back Curtis Good moving on.
Tolgay Arslan, Nuno Reis and Scott Galloway have also departed as City undergo a major re-structure of their squad.
They have brought in six players into their senior squad so far, including four teenagers.
City’s two most senior signings have come in defence, with Kai Trewin joining from Brisbane and Argentine German Ferreyra also signing on after spending the past three seasons with Russian outfit Enisey Krasnoyarsk.
City will also be boosted by the return of Socceroos regular Aziz Behich, who is back from his loan with Al Nassr.
Melbourne City’s biggest win last season came against the Glory in an 8-0 demolition in April of this year.
However, one of the Glory’s five wins last campaign came against City in February when they came from a goal down twice to win 4-2.
Both teams will be targeting more competitive seasons this time around, and this match could be an early indication of where they are at as they chase early season silverware.
