Sydney FC weighs risk of using Brazilian star Douglas Costa in derby against Wanderers

The Sydney derby looms as the highlight of the A-League’s Unite Round, but whether Sky Blues star Douglas Costa is involved remains unknown.

Douglas Costa is ‘itching’ to play in Saturday night’s Sydney derby. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

The magnitude of a Sydney derby still might not be enough to convince Sky Blues coach Ufuk Talay to use Brazilian star Douglas Costa on Saturday night against the Wanderers.

A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected to gather at Allianz Stadium for the highlight of the A-League’s Unite Round.

However, Talay won’t let the occasion sway his decision on whether to bring Costa back from a hamstring injury or err on the side of caution.

It seemed the former Juventus and Bayern Munich winger was fit enough to play when he was named on the bench for Sydney’s most recent match, a 2-1 loss to Macarthur FC on November 10.

However, Costa remained an unused substitute, with Talay still seemingly not in a rush to call on his prized off-season recruit as he looks to what’s ahead for his team, including an AFC Champions League Two clash on Thursday night against Eastern SC in Hong Kong.

94:42 on the clock, @wswanderersfc thought they’d snatched a point in the Sydney Derby. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁: 🤯🤯🤯

If it’s even HALF as dramatic as the last one at Allianz Stadium, this weekend’s Sydney Derby is going to be immense 🔥

Get your tickets NOW:… pic.twitter.com/NpeVz5m3XF

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) November 21, 2024

“Do we push him to get him available for this game?” Talay pondered.

“We’ve got a very important game midweek and then we have the (A-League) bye, and then we have another (Champions League Two) game, then two days later we play Central Coast, and then we don’t have a (Champions League Two) game until next year.
“It’s one of those ones where we weigh up if we utilise him too early, and he does break again, then he’s out for a long period of time.

“It’s a decision that we’ll sit down with the medical staff to make, and Douglas as well, because he’s just itching to play.

“He wants to get back out there, and we want him to play as well. I think he’s a very important player to us.”

While doubt remains over Costa, Talay said Sydney’s English winger Joe Lolley was ready to return on Saturday night from a groin injury.

“Joe’s good, so he’ll be available for selection,” the Sky Blues coach said.

“(The day) before the Macarthur game, he needed to tick a few boxes, and he still felt a bit of pain on crossing balls, so we thought we didn’t want to risk him.”

When you hear Sydney Trains are back up and running for the weekend 👊

See you at Unite Round! pic.twitter.com/PngrCWteMj

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) November 21, 2024

Sydney’s side is also expected to include Socceroos pair Anthony Caceres and Rhyan Grant, who arrived home from Bahrain on Thursday morning.

However, the other Sydney player that was in the Socceroos squad, central defender Hayden Matthews, isn’t available for the derby due to suspension after he was sent off in the Sky Blues’ loss to Macarthur.

Also returning from national team duty is Wanderers attacker Brandon Borrello.

The Wanderers are intent on turning the tables on the Sky Blues, who won the previous edition of the derby 2-1 on the opening weekend of the season.

Borrello’s teammate Zac Sapsford said the Sydney derby was the “best game of the season”.

“Hopefully, this game will go our way and we’re ready for it,” said Sapsford, who scored in Western Sydney’s last-start 4-1 win over Newcastle.

It was the Wanderers’ first victory of their 2024-25 campaign.

“We’ve been building towards that first win and to get it right before the international break was perfect timing. It has really put a lot of confidence in our whole team,” Sapsford said.

Originally published as Sydney FC weighs risk of using Brazilian star Douglas Costa in derby against Wanderers