Auckland v Wellington Phoenix: kick-off time, how to watch, who to watch – everything you need to know

Te Whanganui and Tara Wellington have the honor of hosting the first Clasico at Sky Stadium, also known as The Cake Tin. Organizers are hoping for more than 20,000 people to attend, with around 15,000 tickets already sold, so a handful of visitors are predicted. Kiwis are notorious fair-weather sports fans, and you know what they say about Wellington on a nice day.

The Auckland derby against Wellington Phoenix kicks off at family hour at 5pm on Saturday afternoon.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Phoenix Women will kick off their season away to Western United on Friday at 9pm NZ time.

The A-League men’s season has just begun. How have both teams fared so far?

Wellington Phoenix are coming off their best ever season in 2023/24 and picking up pretty much where they left off. In their first match against Western United they took a 1-0 lead through Costa Barbarouses until they equalized in the 76th minute and the points were shared.

Secondly, they faced Perth Glory away from home – goals either side of the break from Scott Wootton – as he nodded home a well placed free-kick – and Tim Payne – who also headed a dangerous ball into the box – saw the goal “Phoenix” and to the beginning of the table – briefly.

Auckland’s first match in their history saw them host Brisbane Roar to a sold-out Go Media Stadium. An early own goal from captain Hiroki Sakai calmed nerves a bit, but the home side had to wait until the 74th minute for Logan Rogerson to coolly cross to seal the three points with a 2-0 win.

Second time out and there are few tougher challenges in the A-League than Sydney.

Auckland squandered a couple of good chances in the first half and were almost made to pay for it as Sydney scored late on with a goal ruled out for VAR offside.

The Auckland faithful will be pleased with the determination their team showed and for that faith they were rewarded with a sensational winning goal in the 97th minute thanks to a backheel nutmeg from defender Nando Pijnaker who stole three points to send them straight to the top of the table. .

What do the coaches say?

Auckland FC coach Steve Corica: “We have been looking forward to this game since the draw was announced. Obviously this is our first opportunity to play away, so we’re looking forward to it. We had a great start and we want to continue that.

“It’s a different game, but it’s a derby. It’s for the fans, they want to brag about it, and obviously, but we want to continue on our way. We want to control the game, we want to play good football as usual, but it will be passionate, we have to do it that way – this is a derby game and what I have seen before in derbies that I have seen Both teams are very physical, it will be fast game, which is what we expect from a derby.”

Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano: “I think like most derbies, it’s all about the anticipation. The derby is more fan oriented and you know home advantage always has a big advantage. I’ve been lucky to have seen a few big derbies in my time, the biggest one was in 2011 with Pep (Guardiola) and Jose (Mourinho) in the SuperClásico and at the Bernabeu – it was an experience, but it was all leading up to this. The players feel it, the fans feel it – it’s an event.”

Who should I watch?

Both teams include big names such as Barbarouses, Payne and Japanese import Kazuki Nagasawa. Herald Instead, he will look to up-and-coming Kiwi talent in 18-year-old Nathan Walker (shirt number 41), who has just signed his first professional contract with Phoenix after being named in the starting line-up last week. Walker is also a born, bred and trained Oaklander, so signing him to a four-year deal is a major coup for the Knicks.

Auckland FC have plenty of names to keep an eye on too – their own Japanese star Hiroki Sakai has one of the best CVs of any player to grace these shores (he says the toughest player he has faced is the Brazilian megastar Neymar, so that should provide a bit of context). Promoting Kiwi talent is again a top priority, so look for Liam Gillion (number 14) at Auckland’s left wing.

How can I watch?

You can watch Auckland v Wellington Phoenix live on Sky Sport 2 from 4pm.

Herald Live results updates will also be available, as well as a match report which will be published after the final whistle.

Will Toogood is the magazine’s online sports editor. New Zealand Herald. He enjoys watching people kick a ball around on the grass so much that he decided to make a living from it.