Sydney FC today departed for China to take on Shanghai Shenhua in a post-season friendly on Saturday. The Sky Blues and the Chinese club will undertake these friendlies very regularly in what is a positive relationship between the two cultures.

Sydney will link up with their incoming coach Vitezslav Lavicka in Shanghai where he will have his first real look a the squad as a whole.

Interim coach Tony Popovic said it will be a great opportunity for both clubs.

"They (Shanghai) are raring to go and ready for their season and Champions League," said Popovic.

"For us it's been a lot of changes and end of season, it's never easy to get the players up for it, but to their credit they've trained really well and they're looking forward to it."

Sydney FC's clash with Shanghai Shenhua will kick-off at Shanghai Hongkou Stadium at 5:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday evening.