It is round six of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition and another six blockbuster fixtures are scheduled for the Easter long weekend.
The round kicks off on Good Friday with Marconi Stallions hosting Wollongong Wolves before Manly United goes head to head with Sydney FC later that night.
Sutherland Sharks will be at home against Blacktown City on Saturday afternoon. At the same time, Sydney Olympic makes the trek to Western Sydney to face-off against Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Popondetta Park on Saturday night.
Rockdale Ilinden FC and APIA Leichhardt will go head to head on Easter Sunday, while Sydney United 58 will wrap up the weekend’s action on Monday afternoon against Northbridge Bulls.
Remember, you can catch all the action from every NPL NSW Men’s season game live on NPL.TV.
Marconi Stallions FC v Wollongong Wolves, 4pm Friday at Marconi Stadium
Back-to-back wins will be on Marconi Stallions’ agenda when they host Wollongong Wolves at Marconi Stadium on Good Friday.
The Stallions stunned league leaders Sydney United 58 last week 2-0 to notch their first win of the season and will be riding high going into this week’s clash.
After four weeks of inconsistent results, Marconi finally found their attacking groove as Anthony Frangie and Giorgio Speranza found the back of the net to end United 58’s flawless start to the campaign.
Coach Peter Tsekenis had challenged his players in the lead-up to the Round 5 match to give everything for 90 minutes which was evident in the victory.
It will be similar advice this week against the Wolves.
Anthony Frangie’s goal should be the boost the tricky forward needs to take his campaign to another level, while defender Nathan Millgate is another one delivering for Marconi.
They will be up against a Wollongong Wolves side that has struggled so far this season.
A shock 1-0 loss to Northbridge Bulls last week was another frustrating blow to what has been a topsy turvy season for the Wolves who have really missed their influential striker in the currently suspended Thomas James as well as the creative flair of their former Japanese import Takeru Okada.
Poor discipline against the Bulls proved costly for Wollongong, but not as much as the late defensive lapse, which allowed the visitors to snatch a winner in the 92nd minute.
Coach Luke Wilkshire was not happy with his side’s performance and will be pushing his players in a big way at training this week.
Shot stopper Hayden Durose was one Wollongong player who stood out and could be in for a big day against a dangerous Marconi attack.
Marconi will be the favourites at home, but can they find the consistency required to win two in a row.
An exciting contest to open the week’s fixture and one worth tuning in for.
Manly United FC v Sydney FC, 7pm Friday at Cromer Park
Manly United will be determined to close the gap to top spot on the ladder with a win against Sydney FC this Friday night at Cromer Park.
The boys from the Northern Beaches have gone under the radar early this season but are the only undefeated side remaining in the competition.
The Adam Griffiths coached side is in second spot after five weeks and added another win to their record with victory against APIA last round.
Dejan Pandurevic was at his attacking best with two goals in the 2-0 win at Lambert Park.
The attacker is one of Manly’s primary outlet’s in attack and is beginning to take up the mantle of chief chance creator.
Luka Kmet has stepped up this season and was unlucky not to have scored against APIA.
Sydney FC will be out to hand Manly their first defeat.
A 2-1 loss to Sydney Olympic last week was the young Sky Blues first defeat in three weeks, and coach Jim van Weeren will be encouraging his youthful squad to find their next level as the competition moves towards the middle rounds.
Strikers Jordi Swibel and Antonio Saracino will need to find their scoring touch again if Sydney is to take home all three points against Manly.
Patrick Yazbek has been in strong form this season, as has Callum Talbot.
Manly will be favourites at home, but Sydney FC should never be written off.
Sutherland Sharks FC v Blacktown City FC, 3.30pm Saturday at Seymour Shaw Park
Sutherland Sharks will be in a confident mood when they host Blacktown City at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday.
The Sharks claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win against a ten-men Mt Druitt in round 5.
It was a breakout performance for striker James Andrew who scored a hat-trick in the comprehensive win.
Andrew will be going up against one of his former clubs and will be motivated to carry on his brilliant scoring form.
Jeremy Cox was another goalscorer for the Sharks, and the Blacktown defence shouldn’t underestimate his influence.
Blacktown also had a big win in round five with a 4-1 win against Rockdale Ilinden.
It was a performance that was a long time coming for City and ended a run of defeats.
Coach Mark Crittenden will be encouraging more of the same from his players this week.
Club captain Matt Lewis has been a fixture on the Blacktown team sheet for years, but his influence has yet to wane.
Travis Major added to his tally last week, while Mario Shabow had his best game of the season so far.
If Blacktown can get it together consistently, they will be a finals contender.
This game is very evenly matched and could go either way.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Sydney Olympic FC, 7pm Saturday at Popondetta Park
Mt Druitt Town Rangers will be desperate to turn their early-season struggles around when they play Sydney Olympic at Popondetta Park on Saturday.
A 4-1 loss albeit with ten-men to Sutherland Sharks was the latest blow to the Rangers season so far, with coach Stewart Montgomery searching for answers.
Mt Druitt is desperate to fight their way out of their slump and will be up for a big game against Olympic.
Suspensions will force a bit of a reshuffle this week for Montgomery, with Solomon-Johnn Monohan-Vaiika to miss this match after seeing red against the Sharks.
Composure is key for this team and if they can keep it together for 90 minutes have the talent on the pitch to collect all three points.
Looking to stop them is a Sydney Olympic side looking for its third straight victory.
The Ante Juric coached outfit seems to have found its rhythm after a slow start to the campaign.
Ben van Meurs and Jason Madonis were on the scoresheet last round, but Juric will still want to see more scoring from his big-name attacking players.
Adam Parkhouse had his best game so far this season, and the speedster will be one to watch against a Rangers defence that has leaked goals in recent weeks.
Olympic will be favourites despite being on the road; however, the Rangers won’t be giving up without a fight.
Rockdale Ilinden FC v APIA Leichhardt FC, 3pm Sunday at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
A return to winning ways will be the primary goal for Rockdale Ilinden this week as they host APIA Leichhardt at Ilinden Sports Centre this Sunday.
Last week, a shock 4-1 loss to Blacktown City was a wake-up call for the reigning premiers, and coach Steven Zoric will be determined to have his team ready to bounce back.
The defence will likely be the main focus on the training paddock this week, with pressure on star backs Banri Kanaizumi, Mitchell Stamatellis and Daniel Petkovski to hold strong against a struggling APIA attack.
Alec Urosevski cannot stop scoring and will have one eye on the prize yet again as he hopes to deliver more goals and excitement in front of what should be a vocal crowd on Sunday.
APIA will be desperate for a victory in what will be a tricky opponent but wins really need to kick start their push for a finals finish.
With all its glitz and glamour after seeing major upgrades to Lambert Park, the club is hoping that victories on the pitch will settle the squad.
It has been tough going for the Inner West club who will be backing up for their second game in only a matter of days after they take on Sutherland on Wednesday night.
APIA have struggled to get it together at both ends of the paddock and will need a big turn around under new coach Paul Dee.
Blake Powell has failed to hit the ground running on his return to APIA, but a few goals for the talented striker could easily get him back on track.
Ivan Necevski has been a champion underneath the sticks and his influence too will be a big bearing on how this match will go while new recruit Harry Callahan will need to find that form he had with the Wolves to propel the club back to winning ways.
Rockdale will be big favourites in this game; however, APIA has long dominated matchups between these two sides.
It could be the perfect fixture for APIA to find their way, or it could just be the game that gets the Rockdale machine up and running again.
Either way, it is one you don’t want to miss.
Sydney United 58 v Northbridge Bulls FC, 4pm Monday at Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney United 58 are looking for a big bounce-back performance when they take on Northbridge Bulls at Sydney United Sports Centre this Monday.
United 58 came tumbling down to earth after suffering a loss to local rivals Marconi in round 5, ending their flawless record to start the season.
While the Tomi Vidovic coached side remains in top spot, they will be hoping the defeat was just a blip in what has been so far building towards a very successful year at Edensor Park.
Patrick Antelmi failed to find the target for the first match this season, but he still leads the golden boot race with five goals.
Daniel Nizic in the Reds goal was kept busy against Marconi and made several really good saves to keep his side in the contest. He is beginning to make the number one shirt his own this season.
A knock to Glen Trifiro suffered in the first half of the match against Marconi will be a concern for Vidovic this week. Andrea Agamemnonos was his replacement last week and could be called on this round if the talented Trifiro is unavailable.
Northbridge were winners in round five and will be pushing for another three competition points this week.
Their incredible 1-0 victory deep in injury time courtesy of Moudi Najjar was a dramatic victory on the road for the Mile Sterjovski coached team.
Theph Theph had a breakout performance for the Bulls in that game, claiming man of the match honours, while goalkeeper Ryan Wood also delivered a big performance.
Captain Rory Jordan missed a penalty against the Wolves and will be out to bounce back in a big way in this match.
Sydney United 58 will be tough to stop at home and will be the favourite to win this one.
This game is set to be an exciting way to wrap up the round and one not to miss.