Live A-League coverage: Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers - Sydney Morning Herald

8:04pm: 12 min: GOAL! Wanderers strike first with Iacopo La Rocca heading in a pinpoint Shinji Ono cross from a free kick.

8:01pm: 8 min: Sydney FC get the first genuine chance of the night but Ali Abbas's free kick from outside the box sails harmlessly over the cross bar. How the Sky Blues would have loved Del Piero on the pitch to take that shot.

7:56pm: 5 min: Enterprising attack from Sydney FC on the edge of the Wanderers' goalmouth.

7:51pm: 1 min: The referee blows time on, and it's the Wanderers who have first use of the ball in front of a sea of red and blue, and sky blue. Amazing atmosphere.

7:48pm: Players are making their way onto the field now. The overwhelming feeling in the halls of Fairfax is that Sydney FC are in for a long night without ADP and Emerton. Mind you, we've been wrong before. Many times unfortunately.

7:40pm: Fairfax football writer David Sygall says: "There is a special feeling about this game. At one end is the Cove,

the long-standing Sydney FC supporter group, yelling their usual

encouragement for their team. Directly opposite is a swathe of black

and red, the wonderful Wanderers supporters in full song already. The

players are warming up, the noise is growing and anticipation is high.

This is exactly the scene the true believer football fans always

envisaged. Great stuff. Hopefully the match lives up to the occasion."

Amen, Dave!

7:29pm: Full-time in the Central Coast Mariners v Adelaide United match at Gosford, the home side running out 1-0 winners. A second-minute goal to Nick Fitzgerald was enough for the Mariners to record their ninth straight win against the South Australians.

7:06pm: Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's Sydney derby at Allianz Stadium.

Sydney FC's team has just been announced and the bad news for Sky Blues fans is that marquee men Alessandro Del Piero and Brett Emerton have succumbed to their injuries and won't play tonight.

The Sydney team is: Vedran Warren Petkovic Tiago Ryall Grant Abbas Carle Garcia Mallia Chianese. Subs: Ivan Jurman Yau Thompson Naumoff.

Wanderers midfielder Aaron Mooy will also be a spectator tonight, having failed torecover from the concussion he suffered in the match against Wellington last week. The Wanderers side is: Covic (GK), D'Apuzzo, Topor-Stanley, Beauchamp (C), Polenz, Poljak, Juric, Hersi, La Rocca, Bridge, Ono. Subs: Cole, Santalab, Minniecon, Tyson (GK), Trifiro.