IF THEY can’t beat Perth Glory at Parramatta today, why should Sydney FC expect to beat Gold Coast United or Melbourne in the finals?

I'll be back ... Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque heads for the turf in amtach at the SFS. Today Sydney play Perth Glory in their first A-League fixture at Parramatta Stadium. Photo: Getty Images

The importance of the clash with the dangerous Glory at Parramatta Stadium is not being underestimated by any of the Sky Blues. Striker Alex Brosque acknowledged the team’s recent form had been poor and there was no time left to waste.

”If you look at our past four games, we’ve had one win, one draw and two losses and, apart from the game against Newcastle, we haven’t been looking too good,” he said.

”This is a game we have to win if we want any chance, going into the last round, of finishing in the top two. It’s a very big game for us.”

The Glory squad is greatly depleted, with captain Jacob Burns, goalkeeper Tando Velaphi and midfielders Mile Sterjovski, Adriano Pellegrino and Viktor Sikora all out with injury. But that does not mean anything to Brosque and his colleagues.

”With Brisbane last week, they probably weren’t as strong as the team that started the season,” he said. ”They’d lost a lot of good players. We still had to go up there and do the job and we didn’t.

”So, even though Perth are coming here with a few good players missing, we can’t think about that and just realise how important this game is. We have to get them on the back foot and shut them out of the game.”

The sides played in Perth on January 4 and finished 0-0. Glory coach David Mitchell implied that his team respected Sydney, but were feeling positive about their chances today. His side has secured four wins and a draw of late and a win today would have them hot on Sydney’s heels approaching the final round.

”Going into the game the boys hold no fears,” Mitchell said. ”[Sydney have] got one of the best defences in the league and it’s not by coincidence they are close to the top of the league, so it will be a difficult task for us, but one we are going into with confidence.”

This will be Sydney’s first A-League match at Parramatta Stadium. The side trained there in the early days, but it will be local fans’ first chance to see them in action close to home since the Asian Champions League match against Persik Kediri in 2007.

Brosque, who lives nearby, said he hoped for a large crowd.

”I’m excited about playing at Parramatta,” he said. ”For me, it’s only about 20 minutes away from home, rather than the drive into the city. It’s close to my family as well, and it’s good to mix things up. It’ll be a bit different but we’ll still have the fans on our side.”

Rain might deter some fans, but the football won’t suffer.

”We play our best football when grounds are wet and the ball moves quickly,” Brosque said. ”That’s why we water the pitch before every home game. We’re big on passing and moving the ball quickly, so the rain would be perfect for us.”

Mark Bridge is still unfit, meaning that Brosque will start up front with John Aloisi.

”It’s been unfortunate that there hasn’t really been a time when the three of us have been fit and the coach has had to make a big decision,” Brosque said.

”It’s just been that someone’s been injured and the other two have been playing. John’s a good forward to play with and we plan to score goals.”