Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic has looked into his crystal ball and he likes what he sees heading into Sunday's grand final against Sydney FC.
More than 50,000 fans are expected to pack out Optus Stadium for the grand final, and Popovic is confident his team will handle the big occasion.
Glory were the dominant team all season - winning the A-League Premiers Plate with two rounds to spare, and finishing with the best defensive and offensive records.
Although Perth will start as slight favourites in Sunday's grand final, Sydney are oozing confidence following their 6-1 demolition of Melbourne Victory.
Glory were given a major scare in their own semi-final against Adelaide before eventually prevailing in an epic penalty shootout.
Despite that fright, Popovic is confident his charges are primed to produce their best in the grand final cauldron.
"You can never anticipate in terms of how many goals will be scored. But I'll anticipate we'll be very good," Popovic said.
"I know the mindset we'll go out with on Sunday. We know what that will be.
"They (the players) have been confident all year and they've produced all year.
"They've embraced every challenge that's been put in front of them, and they'll embrace this one. I'm really looking forward to seeing them play."
When asked what the key is to beating Sydney, Popovic replied: "To play our football.
"We're very clear on what we need to do on Sunday and how we want to do it.
"The preparation has really been done throughout the whole year. We've been working towards this moment.
"We're at home, we'll have a fantastic crowd. It's a great reward for us to get to this stage. We're excited by the challenge."
Sydney beat Glory in two of the three meetings between the two sides this season.
But in the most recent encounter - a 1-0 win to Sydney in round 26 - Glory rested a host of their key players after already wrapping up the Premiers Plate.
Popovic led Western Sydney to three grand finals, but failed to take home the title each time.
The master coach is confident of ending his Championship drought this time.
Australian Associated Press
