Melbourne City vs Sydney FC Prediction and Betting Tips | January 2nd 2026

Melbourne City and Sydney FC get underway in the new year when they lock horns at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in round 11 of the Australian A-League on Saturday. Having failed to win the last four meetings between the two teams, Sydney will be out to get one over the home side as they look to kickstart the new year on a high.

It was a sour end to the year for Melbourne City as they suffered a 3-1 home defeat against Perth Glory at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium last Sunday.

With that result, Aurelio Vidmar’s side failed to taste victory in straight four matches to close out 2025, losing twice and claiming two draws, including a 1-1 stalemate against FC Seoul in the AFC Champions League, where they sit fourth in the table.

Melbourne City have picked up 13 points from their 10 A-League matches so far to sit eighth in the standings, level on points with ninth-placed Perth Glory.

Like the home side, Sydney FC failed to close out the year on a high as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle Jets at the McDonald Jones Stadium on December 20.

Before that, the Sky Blues picked up consecutive victories over Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory, and had won six of their seven matches preceding the loss to Newcastle.l

Despite their slump at the McDonald Jones Stadium, Sydney could move top of the A-League table with a win on Saturday, as they currently sit second with 18 points from nine matches, two points behind first-placed Auckland FC.

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

• With 18 wins from the last 47 meetings between the sides, Melbourne City hold a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture.
• Sydney FC have picked up one fewer win in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 12 occasions.
• Sydney have lost each of their last eight visits to the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in the league, a run stretching back to November 2018, when they cruised to a 3-0 victory.
• Melbourne City are unbeaten in eight of their most recent 10 A-League home games, picking up five wins and three draws since the start of April.

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC Prediction

With 22 goals scored in their last six clashes, meetings between Melbourne City and Sydney FC have often served up fireworks in the past, and we anticipate another action-packed contest this weekend.

Vidmar’s men have been outstanding at home in this fixture, but we predict Sydney will do just enough to leave with a point.

Prediction: Melbourne City 2-2 Sydney FC

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Draw

Tip 2: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have scored in four of their last five meetings)

Tip 3: Over 10.5 corners - No (There have also been fewer than 11 corner kicks in six of the last seven clashes between the two teams)

Edited by Peter P