Potentially, two of the most in-form playmakers, Anthony Caceres and Josh Nisbet, will go head-to-head in a must-watch matchup on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium.
On Tuesday night, Nisbet debuted for the Socceroos, and whether Anthony Caceres can follow his lead has been a regular talking point in recent times.
In their last outing against each other, Caceres outshone Nisbet, scoring once, assisting once, and causing an own goal.
Nisbet was kept silent by the Sydney FC defence.
The Mariner and the Sky Blue are similar players who move the ball quickly and use their versatile agility in attack and defence.
And, with both men vying for a spot in the Socceroos, this game may be key for the selectors to compare the two.
Take a look at why this matchup is key for football fans.
Playmaking
From picture-perfect passes to agile dribbling skills, Caceres and Nisbet have shown that they are premier playmakers for their sides this season.
Whichever side can sterilize them from shifting between midfielders and defenders may leave Allianz with the three points.
For example, in the last outing, Caceres demonstrated his attacking versatility, dancing around three defenders for his goal contribution, moving into space where he caused an own goal and lofting the ball over the defense to find Rhyan Grant’s head.
His four assists this season are evidence of his attacking flair, as he has smoothly fitted into Ufuk Talay’s aggressive, high-risk, high-reward style of play.
On the other hand, Nisbet currently leads the Isuzu-UTE A-League with assists, having seven.
But when he took on the Sky Blues, they were able to force him down the left side of the field, keeping him quiet as he created no key chances which is a rarity for him this season.
However, when coming forward Nisbet has shown his attacking capabilities on the pitch.
He plays in a similar style to Caceres, lofting balls into the box, making sharp cutbacks or threading through straight balls into attackers’ feet.
He showed his attacking flair against Macarthur two weeks ago, where the Mariner opened up the middle of the Bulls’ defense before laying the ball straight into Ronald Barcellos’ feet.
Agility and scoring
Both players are also extremely agile, as they are able to transfer weight from one foot to the other and find space to create opportunities.
Nisbet produces eight key chances per game, while Caceres makes five, with 2.1 key passes on average.
The Mariner also creates 0.8 shots per game, and his two goals have occurred on his left foot.
Caceres is more of a right-footed individual who will meet the midfield left-footer.
The Sky Blue makes a similar number of successful passes per game, recording 36.7 compared to Nisbet’s 37.
When pairing with playmakers such as Luke Brattan and Corey Hollman, these three players can combine to create opportunities.
Still, Caceres’ ability to sneak through gaps is why he’s essential for the Sky Blues, similar to Nisbet for the Mariners and his partnerships with Mikael Doka and Angel Torres.
Out of Caceres’ 36.7 successful passes per game, 26.8 of them occur in the opposition half, and 21 of Nisbet’s happen in the opposition half.
Defending
When talking about playmakers, it’s quick to assume that they impact teams in the forward half, however, Caceres and Nisbet can both get back and defend the pack.
The Mariner makes 57.7 touches per game, whilst Caceres produces 62.8.
Nisbet also creates 1.1 interceptions and recovers the ball 6.2 times per game.
Caceres recovers 4.4 balls but makes 2.4 tackles on average, higher than his head-to-head rival.
With Central Coast needing a win to equal ladder leaders Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC needing a victory to propel themselves towards the top three, this matchup will be key to the outcome of the game.
Match Details:
Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 22
Saturday 30th March, 2024
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick off: 7:45PM AEDT Gates open: 6:45PM AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ and 10BOLD
Join the Conversation: SYDvCCM & #SydneyIsSkyBlue
Tickets: Click Here
