- Sydney FC have conceded only four goals in five away matches in all competitions.
- Bayswater City have conceded seven goals in four home matches in all competitions.
Cup shock on the cards for Bayswater
Bayswater City are having a brilliant season and should be in with a real chance of causing a cup shock against A-League Sydney FC on Tuesday.
The visitors are the obvious favourites to win in this Australia Cup 2026 clash at 1.18, and the draw at 6.4 also looks a very tempting flutter.
But in the interest of value, we'll be having a punt on the hosts to come up smelling of roses in a game that could be quite open as Bayswater City are a much better side than the usual National Premier League team.
Swaggering Sky Blues are on a roll
Bayswater are 7-2-1 in their last ten and come into this clash on the back of some strong results in all competitions, including a 4-4 draw at Western Knights SC, a 3-0 win at home to Perth RedStar FC and a 1-1 away draw with Fremantle City FC.
In those three games there's plenty of evidence that coach Michael Stoddart's side play a compact, pragmatic style with bite. They sit in a narrow block, recover the ball quickly, spring quick counters and direct play into dangerous areas, or cause problems from set-pieces.
Sydney FC have been steadier under Patrick Kisnorbo this season, using coordinated pressing to recover the ball at high tempo and get players into the front third as quickly as possible. They play in a 4-2-3-1 that suits the players at hand.
Bayswater can counter Sky Blues
But their form has been more steady than slick, and 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (W3, D1, L1) isn't what you would call dominant. The Sky Blues are coming into this after a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle United Jets, a 1-1 away draw won on penalties and a 1-0 loss to Auckland FC.
So we have two different playing styles coming head-to-head with Bayswater wanting to slow things down and Sydney looking to turn up the heat. A goal-ridden 4-4 draw in a previous round doesn't mean this will be a cagey affair and the favourite for over 2.5 goals at 1.29 suggests that this could be a livelier cup clash than a typical top vs bottom affair.
The Sky Blues should be winning this game on quality and control, but Bayswater have plenty of swagger coming into this and enough grit to counterpunch if they can stay in the game. They have won four of their last four at home in all competitions (D0, L0) and should have enough to get past Sydney, who have won only three of their five away in all competitions (D1, L1).
