A-League Round 24: Preview and Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for Round 24 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, April 5

Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar 7:50 PM AEDT, AAMI Park View a detailed form guide for City v Brisbane

City were absolutely toothless without marquee man Jamie Maclaren upfront as a sloppy penalty contributed to their poor 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Wanderers. Amid somewhat shock rumours that Warren Joyce could be moving to Manchester United, City were absolutely crap out on the field. Despite having more of the ball then Western Sydney, 53% vs 47%, they shot only a horrible 1/10 on target. They also leaked 15 fouls including four yellows. And from an offensive standpoint, they allowed the struggling Riera to put a brace past them (two goals). This was Melbourne’s second loss from their past five games in what has been a very, very awkward run of form for them. As it stands they are now in eighth spot on 33 points, seven ahead of the seventh placed Jets. So when you factor in Newcastle’s own recent struggles, City are almost all but assured of a finals spot. But if they keep it up, they’ll be going out limply in only week one.

Brisbane came back well against Sydney as they brought it back to 1-all. But some De Jong magic saw the visitors eventually claim the 3-1 victory. It also didn’t help as the Roar created some unwanted history as they conceded the opening goal inside the first forty seconds of the match. Brisbane to their credit shot 4/13 on target and had several good chances to put the ball past Andrew Redmayne, but they couldn’t quite do it. MeanwhIle Sydney were allowed to fire away with 20 shots at Brisbane’s goals as they had 56% possession. In other departments however the Roar were very strong as they conceded only one yellow in addition to their 78% passing accuracy and their 54 duels won + 14 aerial duels also won. And with rumours suggesting that Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler could this week be announced the new Roar head coach, there could indeed yet be some light for them at the end of the tunnel.

Betting tip: Pick City to win at $1.30 (UniBet)

Also pick them to score first at $1.30 (Neds)

 

Saturday, April 6

Newcastle Jets v Western Sydney Wanderers 5:35 PM AEDT, McDonald Jones Stadium View a detailed form guide for Newcastle v Western Sydney

Newcastle’s faint finals hopes were pretty much extinguished in their shocking 4-1 defeat to Wellington in NZ. The Jets conceded a superb David Williams hat-trick as one of his goals came inside the games opening 30 seconds. It also didn’t help the Jets cause that one of Williams strikes was a penalty. O’Donovan did score his eighth of the season from only 15 games, but that was just about the only good to come from the game for Ernie Merrick’s men. The Jets took 16 shots but only one was on target! ONE! That right there was a major, major contributing factor in why they lost the game. In comparison the Phoenix had 20 shots and put eight on target. Currently the Jets are seven whole points of sixth placed Melbourne City. It would take a minor miracle for the Jets to be able to catch up to them. They need a win here and nothing less to keep those faint, yet flickering hopes alive.

Western Sydney continued their late-season revival with a commanding 3-0 win over City at ANZ Stadium. Riera scored twice with one being a penalty while Duke also bagged one. They were Riera’s 9th and 10th goals of the season. And for Duke his goal was his fourth of the season from only seven matches played. The Wanderers had only three shots on target the entire game but made all three of them count. They also gave away only 11 fouls and won the duels battle with Melbourne to the total tune of 87 to 85. There was a lot to like from the Red & Black in this game and if City can lose to one of their QLD rivals and the Wanderers can claim all three points in this one then their season is still alive. They need the earlier game to go their way but the Wanderers are playing with pride and passion at the moment. And boy oh boy, isn’t it great to see.

Betting tip: Pick Western Sydney to win at $4.30 (Ladbrokes)

Also pick them to score first at $2.40 (Neds, Bet365)

 

Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory 7:50 PM AEDT, Sydney Cricket Ground View a detailed form guide for Sydney v Victory

Which was better, Aaron Calver’s forty second goal or De Jong’s virtually side-line strike? Take your pick. They were both quite surreal and amazing. All of that ans more happened in Sydney’s strong and convincing 3-1 win over the Roar. Le Fondre amongst all of it also bagged his equal league leading 15th goal of the season from only 23 games played. And to his credit he also has two assists. It was a free-flowing and attacking game as Sydney fired away with 20 shots and Brisbane also had 13. Sydney had seven shots on target and Brisbane four. The Sky Blues were also strong passing-wise as they completed 83% of their passes, 449/541. Fouls-wise they weren’t so good as they conceded 16. Now only two wins of the Glory with four games to play, this match will have a massive implication on who will finish first. If Sydney get anything but a win in the Big Blue Derby, then their Minor Premiership hopes are basically over. But if they can claim the huge three points, then there’s still every chance that they can over come the Glory to finish the regular season in first position.

For the Victory a win here would see them leapfrog the Sky Blues into second place, something that they’d desperately want to do. And what better form to come in with then two straight wins, with their most recent one being their simply amazing 2-0 victory over the Glory. That was only Perth’s second loss of the season from 23 games! Toivonen scored his 11th goal of the season as he ranks equal third in the goal-scoring charts. While Honda also had his seventh goal of the campaign from only 14 games. The Victory only had 39% of the ball and had only 10 shots to the Glory’s 22. But somehow they managed to pull out the impressive win. This was a win for the ages! Melbourne have won the past three Big Blue Derbies. And the past two have both been by a 2-1 score-line. Toivonen has opened the game’s scoring in the past two and with his high-goal scoring rate this season, he will again be depended on again to deliver Melbourne the goods. Whether he delivers again or not will have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

Betting tip: Pick Sydney to be victorious at $2.02 (TopBetta)

Also pick them to be leading after the 60 minute mark at $2.30 (Ladbrokes)

 

Sunday, April 7

Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix 5:00 PM AEDT, Coopers Stadium View a detailed form guide for Adelaide v Wellington

Marco Kurz showed that he still has the highest ambitions possible for Adelaide despite his now confirmed departure at the end of the season as his side beat the Mariners 1-0 in Gosford. Isias was the matches sole goal-scorer in the rather ordinary affair. Helping aid Adelaide’s cause was a 72nd minute Mariners red. Adelaide dominated the possession with 69% of the ball and keeping the Mariners to only 31% ownage. United also shot a respectable 4/11 on target as they played well despite the knowledge that arguably their best ever manager will be leaving his post at the club at the end of the season. Adelaide also completed 83% of their passes in another major plus for them. However of a slight concern will be their 16 conceded fouls, a pretty lazy and ordinary number for a usually pretty stable club. They also won 20 less duels then the Mariners and four less aerial ones as well. Three areas that will need to be fixed and improved upon coming up against a rampant Wellington side.

Over the past three rounds Wellington have put up four, three and eight goals in a rampant run of form as they head strongly into the finals. This time they smashed fellow finals aspirants Newcastle 4-1 in NZ. David Williams scored inside the games opening 30 seconds. He then converted a penalty in the 60th minute. And then to complete his three goals he scored an absolute screamer from distance in the 65th minute. Singh also added to the Jets woes in the 73rd minute with a goal of his own. The Nix are currently looking good in fourth place and they sit a win ahead of fifth placed Adelaide. Despite all this Yellow & Black happiness headed into this match, they have not beaten Adelaide in their last 10 games against them. The last time they won vs them was way back in 2015 where they posted a 4-2 win. Both Krishna and Goodwin featured on the score-sheet in that game.

Betting tip: Pick Wellington to be victorious at $3.80 (UniBet)

Pick David Williams to score any-time and back up his last rounds three goals at $8.00 (UniBet)

 

Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory 7:00 PM AEDT, Central Coast Stadium View a detailed form guide for Central Coast v Perth

Despite trying hard after losing Karacan to a red in the second-half, the Mariners couldn’t quite convert their chances as they went down 1-0 to Adelaide. The Mariners played very valiantly as they held just 31% of the ball and had only three shots on target the entire game. But they kept Adelaide to just four. Two things going against the Central Coast was their sloppy passing. They completed their passes at only a 67% rate, 176/262. And they also conceded 16 fouls. The result leaves them five points of the bottom of the table and probably needing to claim something against Perth to be in with a chance of avoiding the dreaded Wooden Spoon. However, in the Mariners last away game vs Perth it was only a 95th minute Andy Keogh goal that separated the two sides. If the Mariners can put in the same sort of effort they did in that game, again, then there’s no reason that they can’t push hard for a draw. That’s especially so considering the Glory will be reeling after only their second defeat of the season came last round.

Perth pushed hard but couldn’t get it done as they lost only their second game of the season as they went down 2-0 to the Victory. The Glory had 22 opportunities to score, but couldn’t. They had the ball 61% of the time to do something with it, but couldn’t. In comparison the opposition had just 10 opportunities to score and could. The opposition also had the ball only 39% of the time and they were able to do something with it. That was the major difference in class between the two sides. Perth while they are top, are not used to playing in the big matches. The Victory on the other hand have played in plenty of them. Despite being pushed by the Central Coast this season, their latest game played saw the Glory topple them with ease 4-1. Keogh and Ferreira both bagged doubles that day in the route. And on 13 goals this season Keogh will again have a massive say on the outcome of the game.

Betting tip: Pick Perth to win with relative ease at $1.46 (UniBet)

Also pick them to score last at $1.38 (Neds)

Best Bet of the Round

My favourite/best bet of the round is for Perth to win at $1.46 (UniBet). They are 1st and playing the last-placed Mariners! This could be a recipe for disaster for the Central Coast!