Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio ready to deliver knockout blow to Sydney FC

Melbourne City has the chance to not only end Sydney FC’s season on Saturday but also secure an AFC Champions League Elite spot.

Melbourne City star Marco Tilio will have no qualms about playing a leading role in the demise of his former club Sydney FC on Saturday.

If City beats the Sky Blues at AAMI Park, the Sydneysiders – who were A-League title favourites at the start of the season – will finish in seventh spot and miss out on finals football.

“That’s the plan – I hope so,” said Tilio, whose team also has plenty to play for.

A win would guarantee City second spot – and a place next season’s AFC Champions League – on the ladder, regardless of what would happen in subsequent games on Saturday night involved finals-bound Western United, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory.

“We just need to execute our plan correctly, and I believe we have the team and the quality to get the three points and secure second place and Champions League qualification.

“We know Sydney have quality individuals, and they can hurt you at any time, but as long as we nullify their individuals in attack, there is plenty of room for us to attack at their end and put them away.

“We’re know they’re weak in that aspect.”

Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio is hoping his side can seal second spot on the A-League ladder. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Sydney’s defence has been the club’s Achilles heel all season, with the presence of attacking weapons Douglas Costa, Joe Lolley and Patryk Klimala not having been enough to cover for the Sky Blues’ problems at the back.

However, not all is yet lost for the Sydneysiders.

A draw with City will be enough for them scrape into the top-six and take part in the finals series starting next weekend.

But such is Sydney’s style, coach Ufuk Talay said his side would be set up to win the game rather than just avoid defeat.

“What we’ve spoken about is that they need to manage the game and understand where the game’s at,” Talay said.

“We’ll set up to try to go and get all three points, but the players need to understand (that) they need to manage the game and manage it well,

“If we’re getting peppered, we need to slow the game down. If we’re on top and we’re pinning them back, we need to keep going at them and create those moments within the game.”

Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay wants his players to ‘manage’ their performance against Melbourne City. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

A draw or a Sydney win would leave City vulnerable in second place.

Depending the result at AAMI Park, third-placed Western United might only need a draw against premiers Auckland FC at Ironbark Fields in a match kicking off an hour after the start of the City-Sydney game to grab second spot.

However, if both City and the John Aloisi-coached United fail to win, it leaves them both vulnerable to being leapfrogged by Western Sydney Wanderers, who meet Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in a game starting 90 minutes after the kick-off of the United-Auckland clash.

“We can’t control what the other results are going to be,m we can only control what we’re doing,” Aloisi said.

“We’ll be ready for the game and then we’ll see where we end up. We’re just focusing on our performance.”

Originally published as Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio ready to deliver knockout blow to Sydney FC