The 2020-21 A-League grand final will see Melbourne City and Sydney FC do battle on Sunday June 27.
The Sky Blues are targetting a third straight championship having beaten City 1-0 in the decider last season.
Steve Corica's side booked their place in another grand final this season after defeating Adelaide United 2-1 in their semi-final, while Patrick Kisnorbo's men claimed their spot after seeing off Macarthur FC 2-0 on Sunday.
Those results have set up a tantalising grand final which will bring the curtain down on what has been an entertaining season.
A-League grand final match details
| Game | Venue | Date (AEST) | Time (AEST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne City vs Sydney FC | AAMI Park | Sunday June 27 | 5.05pm |
After some confusion, the APL have now announced an initial plan to host the A-League grand final at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Loosening of COVID restrictions in Victoria mean up to 15,000 fans will be allowed to attend the match.
"This announcement means that Melbourne City are deservedly able to play a grand final at home in front of a raucous crowd and we hope as many Sydney FC fans as possible will be there, given evolving COVID-19 restrictions across Victoria and NSW, to make it an enthralling occasion," A-League commissioner Greg O’Rourke said.
"The game is taking place on Sunday to make sure fans can plan their trip with the most time possible given this very late confirmation."
Though things in Melbourne are settling down, New South Wales is now battling a COVID outbreak with Sydney FC star Luke Brattan revealed on Wednesday that he and some of his team-mates in COVID hot spots were moved into hotels to keep hopes of inter-state travel alive.
How to watch the A-League grand final in Australia
Fox Sports boast the broadcasting rights for this season's A-League grand final with the match shown live on Foxtel and their streaming service Kayo.
Kayo has made all finals games part of their 'Freebies' package meaning fans without a subscription can watch for free.
This game will mark the final A-League game shown on Fox Sports with the competition to be shown on Network 10 and Paramount+ moving forward.
The grand final will also be shown on delay via ABC ME at 9pm (AEST) or it can be streamed live on mobile via the My Football Live App.
Melbourne City team news
Kisnorbo's side will be without Socceroos trio Jamie Maclaren, Connor Metcalfe and Curtis Good for Saturday's showdown after their recent call ups.
Andrew Nabbout and Craig Noone were late withdrawals from City's semi-final win with Nabbout desperate to play even if he isn't quite fully fit.
"It's a grand final, so you've got to roll the dice, don't you?" Nabbout said on Wednesday.
"I've got five or six weeks after to feel the after-effects. So whatever it is, it is and I'm going to push and do everything I can to be ready."
Sydney FC team news
The Sky Blues will be missing Andrew Redmayne, Rhyan Grant and Ryan McGowan for the grand final after all three were called up for Socceroos duty earlier this month.
Michael Zullo, Trent Buhagiar, Chriz Zuvela, Jordi Swibel and Calum Nieuwenhof were all also unavailable for the semi-final.
Sky Blues star Milos Ninkovic was a late omission from the win over Adelaide with Corica admitting after the game he is no certainty to play come Saturday.
"I think he’ll go close. He was touch-and-go for this game, I’m hoping that by next week he should be okay," Corica said on Fox Sports.
"Whether he starts now after that performance from the boys I’m not sure, I might put him on the bench."
Melbourne City squad
1.Tom GLOVER (gk), 2.Scott GALLOWAY, 3.Scott JAMIESON (c), 4.Nuno REIS, 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 8.Aiden O’NEILL, 10.Florin BERENGUER-BOHRER, 11.Craig NOONE, 13.Nathaniel ATKINSON, 14.Naoki TSUBAKI, 15.Andrew NABBOUT, 16.Taras GOMULKA, 17.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Adrian LUNA, 23.Marco TILIO, 33.Matthew SUTTON (gk) 35.Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 36.Kerrin STOKES, 39.Anthony LESIOTIS
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Craig NOONE (returns from injury), 15.Andrew NABBOUT (returns from injury)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: 9.Jamie MACLAREN (quarantine), 18.Connor METCALFE (national team duty), 22.Curtis GOOD (quarantine)
Sydney FC squad
2. Patrick FLOTTMANN, 3.Ben WARLAND, 4.Alex WILKINSON (c), 5. Alex BAUMJOHANN, 8.Paulo RETRE, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 16.Joel KING, 17.Anthony CACERES, 18.Luke IVANOVIC, 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 21.Harry VAN der SAAG, 24. Adrian SEGECIC, 25. Callum TALBOT, 26.Luke BRATTAN, 27. Jordi SWIBEL, 30. Adam PAVLESIC (gk), 33.Pat WOOD, 99.Adam LE FONDRE.
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 10.Milos NINKOVIC (promoted), 27. Jordi SWIBEL (return from injury)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk) (International Duty Quarantine), 6.Ryan McGOWAN (International Duty Quarantine), 7. Michael ZULLO (calf), 12. Trent BUHAGIAR (groin), 19. Chris ZUVELA (knee), 23.Rhyan GRANT (International Duty Quarantine), 28. Calem NIEUWENHOF (back)
A-League grand final betting odds*
After finishing the regular season in first, Melbourne City go into the grand final a slight favourites with Sportsbet at $2.15.
Sydney FC can be backed at $3.40, while a draw at the end of 90 minutes is valued at $3.50 with last season's decider between these two sides forced into extra time.
*Odds correct at the time of publication.
Past A-League grand final results
| Game | Year | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney FC 1-0 Central Coast Mariners | 2006 | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Melbourne Victory 6-0 Adelaide United | 2007 | Docklands Stadium |
| Central Coast Mariners 0-1 Newcastle Jets | 2008 | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Melbourne Victory 1-0 Adelaide United | 2009 | Docklands Stadium |
| Melbourne Victory 1-1 Sydney FC (Pens 2-4) | 2010 | Docklands Stadium |
| Brisbane Roar 2-2 Central Coast Mainers (Pens 4-2) | 2011 | Suncorp Stadium |
| Brisbane Roar 2-1 Perth Glory | 2012 | Suncorp Stadium |
| Western Sydney Wanderers 0-2 Central Coast Mariners | 2013 | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Brisbane Roar 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers | 2014 | Suncorp Stadium |
| Melbourne Victory 3-0 Sydney FC | 2015 | AAMI Park |
| Adelaide United 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers | 2016 | Adelaide Oval |
| Sydney FC 1-1 Melbourne Victory (Pens 4-2) | 2017 | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Newcastle Jets 0-1 Melbourne Victory | 2018 | McDonald Jones Stadium |
| Perth Glory 0-0 Sydney FC (Pens 1-4) | 2019 | Optus Stadium |
| Sydney FC 1-0 Melbourne City | 2020 | Bankwest Stadium |