With the luxury of an almost full strength squad at his disposal, Melbourne Heart FC coach John van ‘t Schip is expecting a “totally different game” to that which saw Sydney FC defeat them 2-0 at AAMI Park earlier in the season.
Goals from Alessandro Del Piero and Joel Chianese saw the Sky Blues over the line in the corresponding fixture back in Round 6, but van’t Schip was adamant the result now counts for nothing.
“Every game is different, we are about six or seven games further [along] and a lot of things have changed,” van ‘t Schip said.
“They have made some changes and they had some bad results after that [game].
“We have made some changes in the way we play and some players that are playing so its a totally different game.”
The Sky Blues will arrive at AAMI Park tomorrow night with their tails up having thrashed Melbourne Victory FC 5-0 last weekend but coach is confident his side can achieve a result as they continue to improve.
“They played very well last game against the Victory,” he said.
“We were there to watch so they will be heading over here with a lot of confidence.
“Its of course a result that will give them a big boost, for us now its important to make sure we are prepared and to continue improving our game – what I think we are.”
Forward David Williams and centre half Patrick Gerhardt joined the group in training this morning and will be putting their hands up for selection having returned to full fitness.
“They are fit and they are training,” van ‘t Schip said commenting on the pairs availability.
“We have a big group to make a choice from.”
In addition, international marquee Orlando Engelaar and Jonatan Germano are both expected to retain their places in tomorrow night’s squad as they make their way back into full fitness, further bolstering van ‘t Schip’s side.
“He is making progress,” van ‘t Schip said commenting on Engelaar.
“He was out for a long time but the positive is he played for almost an hour at a high level that he is getting used to how the game is played here so he has to make the next step.
“Very good to have Germano back, he brings something different to the team.
“He’s very energetic, has a kind of south American aggressive way of playing in his style, we are happy that they are both back.”