Andrew Redmayne has taken a subtle dig at the Western Sydney Wanderers by suggesting Macarthur can now lay claim to being Sydney FC's closest challengers for dominance in the city.
Sydney host Macarthur at Allianz Stadium Sunday in the A-League Men with the two clubs expected to renew a rivalry that has been slowly building in recent seasons.
The Bulls have won three of their past five meetings with Sydney.
Now in just their fifth year of existence, Campbelltown-based Macarthur also won the Australia Cup in two of the past three seasons and finished in the top six last term.
The Wanderers, meanwhile, have not beaten Sydney in their four previous derbies and are winless through their first three ALM games.
Amid the Wanderers' struggles and the Bulls' recent pedigree, Redmayne reckons Macarthur have begun to make a case that they are Sydney's biggest threat.
"I think Macarthur are heading that way," Redmayne told AAP.
"All eyes are on the Sydney derby but if you look at trophies and silverware they (Macarthur) are pushing us along ... off the top of my head, I think they have won the same amount of trophies as the Wanderers.
"It's one of our big rivalries now with two Sydney teams going out at it in 'a Sydney derby'.
"Although it's the one that might not sell out the stadium, it's definitely an exciting prospect on paper and on the pitch."
There is added spice to Sydney's clash with Macarthur, which comes four days after the Sky Blues host J.League title contenders Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Asian Champions League 2.
Former Sydney captain Luke Brattan returns to face the Sky Blues for the first time since having a contract offer pulled following several months of talks.
Brattan said in an interview with AAP last month he felt he deserved "a bit of honesty" over the handling of his contract stand-off, which set the wheels in motion for his move to Macarthur.
While Sydney won't want to give Brattan an inch, Redmyane wants to see fans treat the influential midfielder with respect.
"He is the former captain of Sydney FC, had a fantastic five years here and won a lot of silverware," Redmayne said.
"I'd be disappointed if he didn't get a warm reception.
"Once you cross the line, myself and him are going to want to win and only one of us can do that."
