Sydney FC tease return of Brazilian star Douglas Costa for clash against Adelaide United

Sydney FC’s bid to find some much-needed form against Adelaide United could be aided by the potential return of Brazilian star Douglas Costa.

Adelaide United’s worst nightmare – the return of Sydney FC marquee man Douglas Costa – may yet become a reality on Saturday at Allianz Stadium.

Sky Blues coach Ufuk Talay is toying with the idea of bringing back Costa earlier than expected from a hamstring injury – most likely as an impact player – against the Reds.

The Brazilian winger tormented Adelaide at Coopers Stadium six weeks ago, scoring twice and setting up Sydney’s other goal to almost single-handedly ensure the Sky Blues returned home with a point in a 3-3 draw after they trailed 3-1 deep into the contest.

However, Costa injured his hamstring the following week in Sydney’s 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory and hasn’t played since.

“Douglas is still not 100 per cent, but we’ll see whether we utilise him this weekend and put him on the bench,” said Talay, whose side is desperate for a win after back-to-back losses.

“We need to win our home games. For us every game is as important as the next one.

“We know where we want to be and how we need to get there as well, but it is about taking it game by game without looking too far forward and to start, focus on getting all three points against Adelaide.”

"Hopefully tomorrow we will have someone locked in" 🗣️

Ufuk Talay on the transfer window plans with a defender coming soon 👇🎙️#SydneyIsSkyBluepic.twitter.com/9cPREXuETb

— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) January 30, 2025

Reds coach Carl Veart, whose team has lost just once this season, is wary of a Sydney backlash.

“They’ve had two bad results, so they’re going to want to get back to winning ways,” Veart said.

“It’s going to be a difficult game and they’re going to be really up for it.

“I said at the start of the season that they’re one of the best sides in the league, especially their attacking threats. We have to do everything right defensively.”

It’s for that reason that Adelaide is sweating on the fitness of experienced Dutch centre-back Bart Vriends, who suffered a knock in the Reds’ last-start 2-2 draw with Auckland FC on January 22.

“We’ve given him every chance possible to be available for (Saturday),” Veart said.

“The 10-day break has been very good for us. It’s given us an opportunity to freshen some of the players up.”

However, Reds winger Ben Folami has been ruled out with “general soreness”.

“He just needs that extra little bit of rest, so he’ll be available for next week’s game (against Melbourne City),” Veart said of the former Melbourne Victory attacking weapon.

Meanwhile, the Sky Blues are poised to announce the signing of former Perth Glory defender Alex Grant.

Grant, 31, has parted ways with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger after just one season with the Chinese Super League club.

“He won’t be available for the game on Saturday but hopefully for the game next week (against Western Sydney Wanderers),” Talay said without confirming the player was Grant.

Originally published as Sydney FC tease return of Brazilian star Douglas Costa for clash against Adelaide United