The following are previews with betting tips for Round 17 of the 2018/19 A-League season.
Compare A-League bookmaker odds
View the A-League form guide
View bookmaker football promotions (excludes NSW)
Friday, February 1
 |
Western Sydney Wanderers v Newcastle Jets7:50 PM AEDT, ANZ Stadium |
 |
Janjetovic, LOL
At this point it’s simply funny for every supporter bar if you barrack for the Wanderers. Instead of letting the ball roll out normally which would have resulted in a goal-kick, Vedran instead put his foot to it, thus resulting in a Brisbane corner. Brisbane then scored off the corner to draw the game at 2-all. Btw, this was in the 96th minute of the match! He continues to make howler after howler. It’s a no wonder Suman’s been starting in his place a lot lately, wise choice Babbel! Previously the Roar had scored in the 92nd minute to make it game on again. They allowed the opposition to score twice in the games remaining five minutes to block them from getting a much needed win. Western Sydney’s goal-scorers were Bonevacia and Yeboah with both their strikes coming in the first-half of play. Again the Red & Black choked away a lead and from their past 10 matches, they have seven losses to show for them. The Wanderers also recently announced the signing of Mitch Duke an ex-Mariner who should give their attack a much needed spark.
The goal drought continues
Round 12 was the last time the Jets put up more than one goal in a match and on Sunday it was again on display for all to see as Perth were ruthless in their demolition of Newcastle as they prevailed 2-0 in what was a very, very clinical performance by the opposition. The Jets peppered Perth with 17 shots. Yet they could only land a measly two on target. With O’Donovan, Vargas and Sheppard all featuring, that’s a pretty poor effort indeed! Perth were so much better as they went for 7/14 on target and tore the Jets to shreds. Newcastle however did have a small positive to come from this match as they gave away only eight fouls and no yellows or reds. But besides that it was pretty bleak for Ernie Merrick’s men. They are not going to be playing finals Football this season and the Glory also won more 12 more duels than them. While Perth also won seven more aerial duels then them. The Jets currently sit 11 points outside of the Top Six and the Victory, the side who beat them in last seasons GF, are currently placed six wins and 18 points above them.
Betting tip: Pick both teams to score at $1.50 (Neds, TopBetta, Bet365)
Pick Western Sydney to strike first at $1.95 (Neds)
Saturday, February 2
 |
Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory5:35 PM AEDT, Central Coast Stadium |
 |
Mariners and Spurs, there ain’t no difference
They both like to bottle it! It’s as simple as that! The Mariners blew a 1-0 lead against Adelaide to go down 2-1 courtesy of George Blackwoods ET winner. It’s really just getting sad for the Central Coast at this point. Andrew Hoole scored a worldly goal in the 37th minute to give the away side the lead, but besides that it was mostly rocks for Mike Mulvey’s side. The Mariners were very restricted in what they could do as they were kept to only nine total shots and 41% of the ball. They also completed just 69% of their passes while they conceded 16 fouls. Adelaide also won 18 more duels then them. And making matters worse for the Mariners is the fact that they probably at least deserved a draw. This isn’t the first time recently they’ve thrown away a good lead. And off the field they recently announced the signing of Jem Karacan. He’s a former EPL player with a lot of experience and he 100% should be able to help shore up their defence a bit. He should most definitely prove to be an astute signing for the Mariners if he can get acclimatized well to the A-League.
Big Blue Victory
In front of a packed Melbourne crowd the Victory really turned it on in their 2-1 victory over Sydney FC to move back up to 2nd spot in the process. Toivonen scored his 10th of the season in the 20th minute and Troisi his fourth in the 58th minute. The Victory only had nine shots but they made a lot of them count as they put four of them on target. The Victory also successfully completed 82% of their passes (420/549). And they gave away only 11 fouls to Sydney’s 15. And one yellow to Sydney’s three. They played hard and well and deserved the victory despite Sydney getting one back shortly after Troisi’s fine strike. Kevin Muscat’s men are slowly starting to find their groove with Honda on the side-lines and they are showing the rest of the A-League why they are the reigning champs and are still the team to beat this season. As it stands they currently have a huge GD of +17 and are on 33 points!
Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to be victorious at $1.60 (UniBet, PalmerBet)
Also pick the second-half to be the highest scoring one at $2.00 (Neds)
 |
Adelaide United v Brisbane Roar7:50 PM AEDT, Coopers Stadium |
 |
One mans trash is another mans treasure
Blackwood unwanted by Sydney ended up in Adelaide. And with his former side in need of some more attacking prowess at the moment he showed them what exactly they gave up as he scored the late winner in his sides tight and tense 2-1 win over the CCM. Isias scored the other goal for Adelaide in the 66th minute as they had to overturn a 1-0 deficit. United absolutely killed it this game as they had 59% possession and shot a stunning 11/19 on target. Perhaps they should have had more goals to their name? They also gave away only nine fouls and one yellow which is also pretty impressive. As it stands Adelaide are currently in 5th place and the reigning FFA Cup winners are only two wins of 3rd placed Sydney. However, could it all come crashing down for them? The rumour mill is in overdrive as Goodwin is potentially headed overseas. Would it be best to sell arguably their best player of their season so far? Probably not. But we know Adelaide isn’t privy to selling and making a profit so sit tight Adelaide fans, hopefully you guys can ride this one out unscathed.
Is Taggart more lucky, or Janjetovic unlucky?
Vedran’s massive stuff-up towards the end of the game gave the Roar and in particular Adam Taggart a huge chance to steal the draw. Taggart took the opportunity with both hands and scored in the 96th minute to draw 2-all against Western Sydney. That was while Mikkelsen had first got Brisbane on the board in the 92nd minute of the match. Boy oh boy, weren’t Brisbane lucky to get something out of that one. But they fought and fought and eventually they got something out of it. Brisbane fired away with 17 shots, so despite having only five go on target, they were bound to score two at least. If they weren’t a complete joke of a side however they probably would have scored more and actually won the game for themselves. But oh well, at least they didn’t go home completely empty handed. Brisbane now have nine points and are actually only two wins of the 7th placed Jets. Could the Roar become the best of the A-Leagues worst? Maybe, just maybe they can. While Papadopoulos is being linked with a surprise move back to Greece.
Betting tip: Pick Adelaide to win at $1.60 (BetEasy)
Also pick the total goals bracket to be 2-3 at $2.06 (TopBetta)
 |
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix10:00 PM AEDT, HBF Park |
 |
Glory you beautyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
They were again relentless as they trashed the Jets 2-0. Keogh had one in the 16th minute and Kilkenny got one in the 47th minute. Perth are 1st and they relegated their opposition even further back in the race for a finals spot. They shot the ball well as they went 7/14 on target. That compared to the Jets whom they kept to 2/17 on target! The Glory also gave away only seven fouls and completed 82% of their passes. Their attack is raring, their defence is pretty on point too. Who can stop them? No one really. Keogh has nine goals, Ikonomidis with six. Killkenny has four and Chianese has three. That’s without even mentioning Castro, Santalab or Juande + Ferreira. They are absolutely on fire. They have a GD of =17! And they have lost only one match all season from 16 games played. Tony Popvic’s men are a tough, tough cookie indeed and they showed that again vs Newcastle in just how well they played and how much they schooled the Jets in the art of playing proper quality Football.
Kurto, Kurto, Kurto
Man won the game for Wellington which was 1-0 vs City. Man made six saves and was an absolute beast at the back. Man is quickly becoming the best Goal-keeper in the A-League. Man is proving all the critics wrong who said that a marquee spot shouldn’t be used on a player in his position. Man is lethal as hell!!! If he wasn’t at the back for Wellington they woulda easily lost that game. But instead the Phoenix are now only two wins of 3rd placed Sydney FC and are back in business after their recent and tight 1-0 defeat to the Sky Blues. Wellington only had nine shots and one goal-scorer in the form of David Williams but it simply did not matter as they claimed all three points. For comparison, City took a huge 16 shots and couldn’t put one past Rudan’s men. A wins a win and all the lads should’ve shouted Kurto a beer after that one!
Betting tip: Pick both sides to find the back of the net at $1.75 (Neds)
Also pick the first half to be the highest scoring one at $3.15 (BetEasy)
Sunday, February 3
 |
Sydney FC v Melbourne City5:00 PM AEDT, Jubilee Stadium |
 |
Ninko not enough as Sydney fall to Melbourne
Milos Ninkovic’s first goal of the A-League season just wasn’t enough as Sydney fell to Melbourne 2-1 in a tightly contested Big Blue Australia Day Derby. Sydney were down 2-0 and despite pulling one back, they didn’t quite have enough in them it seemed to be able to snatch the draw. Oh well, onto the next one for them against an equally as good City side who they should be well-prepared for. Sydney had 12 shots and completed 83% of their passes but un-fortunately for them they weren’t able to put two and two together to claim something out of the game. Worryingly for Sydney they’ve lost to every side in the Top Six this season bar City. Apparently Sydney is chasing another striker, but we’ll see what happens however clearly one is needed as Le Fondre can’t be the only consistent goal-scorer for the Sky Blues if they are to seriously challenge for three different trophies.
It ain’t their fault
It really isn’t, Kurto was just a super freak in denying them any goals. Not to worry City, that just happens sometimes. They went down 1-0 to Wellington, however they are still 4th and only two wins of the Victory in 2nd. A win here for City and things change massively! City took 16 shots and had more of the ball then Wellington but the oppositions strong defence meant that they couldn’t do much with it. The Phoenix were just too hot and too strong for them to ably handle them. Worryingly also is that City gave away 17 fouls and three yellows. Not a good number. de Laet and Wales will be key to breaking down the Sydney defence in this match and giving Melbourne a legitimate chance at finding the back of the net. Whether they can do it against Sydney remains to be seen. As it stands the Sky Blues have won their past seven against City.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to be victorious at $2.02 (UniBet, TopBetta)
Also pick Sydney to score first at $1.73 (BetEasy)
Best Bet of the Round
My favourite/best bet of the round is for Sydney to be victorious at $2.02 (UniBet, TopBetta), they’ve won seven straight vs City!!!