Ufuk Talay hoping to guide his Sydney FC side to a grand final against Wellington Phoenix

A grand final against Wellington Phoenix is on top of Ufuk Talay’s wish list, but first his Sky Blues must dispose of the Central Coast Mariners.

Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay is dreaming of an A-League grand final date with his old club Wellington and his former assistant Giancarlo Italiano, who has the Phoenix on the brink of the decider in his first season in charge of the New Zealand club.

Italiano was Talay’s right-hand man at the Phoenix from for four seasons before being elevated to the top job when the current Sky Blues mentor left Wellington at the end of the club’s 2022-23 campaign.

Should both teams still be standing at the end this weekend’s semi-finals, Talay will be granted his wish of a Phoenix-Sydney grand final in Wellington on Saturday week.

“I don’t want to say I’ve got favourites but I’d like to go to Wellington and play in Wellington,” the Sydney coach said on Thursday.

“It’d be great to come up against ‘Chiefy’ (Italiano). It’d be a great occasion. He’s done very well this season, he deserves the opportunity to be there, and hopefully we can get through this week, and we come across each other in the grand final.”

Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay (right) gives some instructions to Sky Blues pair Jordan Courtney-Perkins (centre) and Robert Mak. Picture: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

For that to happen, Sydney must fight back from 2-1 semi-final first-leg loss to the Central Coast Mariners in Saturday night’s second-leg in Gosford, and the Phoenix must overcome Melbourne Victory a couple of hours earlier at Sky Stadium in a contest locked at 0-0 after last Sunday’s first-leg at AAMI Park.

“The players know that they are only one match away from a grand final and if we can match it with our intensity and attitude that we showed during the season, then we can get a positive result,” Talay said.

However, injuries and suspensions aren’t helping Sydney’s cause.

Talisman Joe Lolley is gone for the season with a hamstring injury, while star defender Jack Rodwell and midfielder Corey Hollman are suspended after being sent off in the Sky Blues’ loss last Friday.

“We have our backs against the wall … but this provides the opportunity for other players to step up and enjoy the occasion,” Talay said.

“These things happen and that is why you have a squad. You rely on the depth of that squad and we have quality players to come in and step up.

“I think it’s going to be a full house (at Industree Group Stadium), so that will be a great spectacle, and the boys will be up for the challenge.

“They’ve worked very hard to get to this point and they have taken on all the information that we have provided to them.

“I am very proud of this group and what they have achieved.”