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Wanderers must overcome 'Homebush hoodoo' to win Sydney Derby

Western Sydney need to win a mind game if they want to put their "Homebush hoodoo" behind them and end another horror streak with an upset result over history-chasing A-League neighbours Sydney FC.

No Wanderers fan needs to be reminded that it's 10 matches and more than three years since their team's last win over Sydney FC.

The Sky Blues are still unbeaten this season having picked up four points from the two previous derbies including a 4-0 opening-round shellacking of the Wanderers at ANZ Stadium, the venue for Saturday's game.

The Wanderers haven't won any of their eight home matches this season in the Olympic Park precinct, at ANZ Stadium or Spotless Stadium.

They've lost three and drawn five, and have dropped to seventh on the ladder.

"Sometimes, it gets into your mind that you can't win in a place," recently recruited Wanderers striker Ryan Griffiths said on Wednesday.

"You just automatically think that you can't, so you just have to overcome those obstacles and the mind games, where everyone says 'you can't win at Homebush.'

"It's something that you just need to overcome individually and as a group and, hopefully, we can put in a really good performance on Saturday.

"Hopefully, we can overcome the Homebush hoodoo and also get into the top six with a win."

Asked if the Wanderers had spotted any potential weaknesses in the Sky Blues, Griffiths said: "I'm keeping that close to my chest -- I am not going to give away too much."

Sydney remain unbeaten after 19 games but defender Alex Wilkinson insists the "Invincibles" tag bestowed on them earlier in the season by coach Graham Arnold isn't building pressure on the side as their streak lengthens.

"It's not so much pressure -- I think it's more opportunity for us," Wilkinson said.

"We've put ourselves in a position now where we can create history and push on to be the best team the A-League has ever seen.

"That's what motivates us at the moment. It's not the so-called 'Invincibles' tag.

"It's the ability for the team to be able to go down in history as the team that's scored the most points in an A-League season.

"I think that's what's pushing us at the moment.

"You've got to worry about the opponent each week and, if you start getting too far ahead of yourself, things can unravel pretty quickly."

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