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Phoenix players celebrate - Source: Photosport -
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Sydney FC captain Steve Corica believes Wellington Phoenix's 6-0 thumping of Gold Coast last Sunday has made the rest of the A-League sit up and take notice.
The two sides meet on Sunday at the Sydney Football Stadium, and although Corica was impressed with the performance of Ricki Herbert's team against the big-spending Queensland outfit, he said the Sky Blues go into the game with no fears.
"They have had a lot of draws leading up to last week's game but everything clicked for them against the Gold Coast and they looked a very good side who could be a top six contender," he said.
"Going on that result their season is going in the right direction, but we have watched them and we think we know how we can beat them."
Sydney have already defeated the New Zealanders this season with a 2-0 win at the SFS in August and Corica said the side will go into the game full of confidence.
"They are hard to break down very compact and I think they will be happy with a draw and we have to find a way of getting in behind them and scoring goals."
The Phoenix's English strikeforce of Chris Greenacre and Paul Ifill have been in fine form and Corica said stopping them will be the key to victory.
"I played against Ifill in England and he plays the same way," he said.
"He likes to run with the ball and get behind defenders, he is a good player. Greenacre is a hard-working striker who scores goals and we will need to watch him."
Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka is refusing to get carried away by his side's rise to top of the table but said he is happy with the way his players have responded to his methods.
"They have taken on board what I want them to do in training but they need to take that into the games more ," he said.
"We have done OK so far but we can be better."
