Western Sydney Wanderers vs Melbourne City Tips & Predictions - Wanderers to take down reigning premiers

It's been a decade since the Wanderers last won a finals game - is this the season Alen Stajcic propels the club back to their glory days? Perhaps. Western Sydney have one of the strongest teams on paper, but they've also lost some key figures from last season and as always, it remains to be seen how the new signings gel. City meanwhile haven't had the greatest time since defeating rivals Victory to win last season's Grand Final. Indeed, they're without a goal in three subsequent games and also have to deal with the double workload of competing in the Asian Champions League Elite this term.

This looks like a fantastic opportunity for the Wanderers to start their season with a bang, facing the reigning premiers who are a little down on confidence at home in front of what should be a bumper crowd. I'm backing Western Sydney to give their home fans something to cheer about - with extra value on a clean sheet in victory.

The Wanderers and City have split their last five meetings at two wins apiece and a draw, with the most-recent clash resulting in a 2-2 share of the spoils.

The Wanderers finished last season in a respectable fourth spot on the ladder, but their wait for a finals win extends into another year after they went down to Melbourne Victory in the elimination game.

Western Sydney didn't have a great Australia Cup campaign - after beating Peninsula 3-0 they were humbled 3-0 by eventual finalists Heidelberg United.

Home form will be key as the Wanderers attempt to make CommBank a fortress for visiting sides. Stajcic's side did a decent job of that towards the end of last season, going unbeaten in five of their last six games, winning four.

Nicolas Milanovic, Zac Sapsford and Oscar Priestman have all departed to Europe, with Steven Ugarkovic, Kosta Barbarouses, Alou Kuol, Angus Thurgate and Phillip Cancar arriving as the main signings.

Western Sydney Wanderers squad: 2. Gabriel CLEUR, 3. Alexander GERSBACH, 4. Alexander BONETIG, 5. Dylan SCICLUNA, 6. Mohamed AL-TAAY, 8. Steven UGARKOVIC, 9. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 17. Jarrod CARLUCCIO, 19. Ruon TONGYIK, 20. Lawrence THOMAS, 21. Aydan HAMMOND, 22. Anthony PANTAZOPOULOS, 23. Bozhidar KRAEV, 25. Joshua BRILLIANTE, 26. Brandon BORRELLO, 30. Jordan HOLMES, 31. Aidan SIMMONS, 32. Angus THURGATE, 39. Awan LUAL, 45. Alou KUOL

City went unbeaten in 20 of their 26 regular season games last season, but had to settle for second spot on the ladder behind Auckland FC.

However, City raised their level when it mattered most, defeating Western United over two legs to reach the Grand Final, where they toppled Melbourne Victory 1-0.

It hasn't been a great period since though - City were eliminated in their Australia Cup opener against APIA Leichhardt, while they've failed to score in a pair of Asian Champions League Elite games against Hiroshima (2-0) and Kobe (1-0).

Ugarkovic, Yonatan Cohen and Marco Tilio have all left the club, with Japanese striker Takeshi Kanamori and Kosovo international Elbasan Rashani joining.

Melbourne City squad: 1. Patrick BEACH, 4. Liam BONETIG, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 10. Takeshi KANAMORI, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 17. Max CAPUTO, 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 27. Kai TREWIN, 30. Andreas KUEN, 33. Dakota OCHSENHAM, 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 38. Beckham BAKER, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI