Under normal circumstances, Sydney FC wouldn't be caught dead barracking for bitter cross-city A-League rivals Western Sydney.
But on this rare occasion, coach Graham Arnold would be a happy man to watch the Wanderers wallop Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Friday night.
With Victory in sixth place and Sydney three points behind in seventh, Kevin Muscat's struggling champions are the biggest blockade between the Sky Blues and a finals berth.
While Newcastle are still a mathematical shot at trumping them both, the final three rounds is shaping as a shootout between last season's grand finalists.
After nine winless games including last weekend's 2-2 draw with wooden-spooners in waiting Central Coast, Sydney basically have to win all three remaining fixtures and then rely on Victory to continue falling flat.
A Victory loss to the table-topping Wanderers would provide a boost ahead of Saturday's tough trip to face Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
"We might have to cheer for our rivals tomorrow night in the Wanderers, for sure," Arnold said.
Victory have endured much the same gruelling A-League-Asian Champions League schedule as Sydney and have experienced a similar fall from grace with just one win from their last eight outings.
Arnold wasn't keen to speculate on whether it would give his side an advantage in the home straight.
"All I know is that they've probably got a heavier schedule than us, to finish off with away trips for the ACL," Arnold said.
Sydney's players will at least play the Roar with fresh legs after a week free of ACL commitments, and will receive a valuable attacking injection with the return of Milos Ninkovic.
The Serbian playmaker was diagnosed with a season-ending ankle injury two weeks ago but the 31-year-old has been given the all clear to play on Saturday.
The Sky Blues will have a near-fit squad apart from skipper Alex Brosque, who underwent hamstring surgery this week.
A cloud also hangs over centre-back Jacques Faty, with Arnold putting his absence from training on Thursday down to a cold.