The following are previews with betting tips for Round 15 of the 2019/20 A-League season.
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Friday, January 17
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Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory7:30 PM AEDT, coopres |
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Last RD- The Reds form has been shaky at best as of late and now they are paying the price for their latest defeat, a 3-0 loss at the hands of Perth last round. They currently sit on 15 points and out of the finals equation in 7th place. They are also only two points ahead of 2nd last place (10th). Suffice to say they need to turn their form around ASAP. In the heavy loss, they conceded goals in the 25th, 44th and 68th minutes of the match. Despite owning 62% of the ball, they conceded 13 fouls. They also only shot a bad 5/20 on target. Outside of that, they completed 86% of their passes, good for 485/565. Post-match Ryan Kitto copped a fair bit of criticism from Verbeek. Kitto was subbed of at HT after an error-riddled 1st half. Verbeek called the teams performance not good enough. And on Kitto claimed, “Kitto has played for a long time in the beginning in that position, so he had to know what to do”. “You can’t make those mistakes in the A-League”. “They show me that they’re not good enough for the A-League”. OUCH for Kitto, that’s for sure.
In a crazy series of events, the Victory scored a goal deflected of another player, the Mariners equalized, the Mariners had a goal ruled out through VAR, Matt Simon was denied a penalty opportunity, Simon equalized with a spot-kick in injury time, Simon got in a scuffle in front of the away section and got his shirt ripped, Simon scored another spot-kick in the 100th minute to insanely give his side a first win over the Victory in 7 years and Kurz was shown red at the full-time whistle. This was typical, peak A-League stuff and is surely a match that won’t be forgotten for ages to come. The end score was 3-2. Dobras scored in the 8th minute for MEL. And MEL’s other goal came via the previously-mentioned Rowles OG in the 78th minute of the match. The Victory shot 4/17 on target, with 47% possession of the ball throughout the match. They also had a shot hit the woodwork and seven of their shots were blocked. They completed 82% of their passes, good for 341/415. What a shock loss for MEL.
Past History- Adelaide have won three out of their past three games in which they’ve competed against the Victory. From newest to oldest, the scores have been, 3-1, 1-0 and 2-0. In the 3-1 match, the Victory’s sole goal came via Toivonen in the 61st minute. Adelaide’s goals came via a double to McGree (23rd and 68th minutes) and Maria (63rd minute). The possession was split evenly at 50% each. The Reds had a shot of the woodwork, in addition to going 6/23 on target. The Victory went 2/5 on target that day. The last time MEL beat ADL was four games ago. it ended 2-0 in the Victory’s favor and was played out on the 8th of December, 2019. Thus meaning that they haven’t beaten the Reds in over a years time. That day their goals came via Barbarouses (62nd minute) and Toivonen (81st minute). The Victory had 57% possession, shot 4/8 on target and had a shot hit the woodwork.
Betting tip: Pick Adelaide to claim a rebound win at $2.10 (Bet365)
Also pick them to score first at $1.76 (BetEasy)
Saturday, January 18
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Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix5:00 PM AEDT, Suncorp Stadium |
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Last RD- Brisbane are now in 9th and are undefeated in their past three games after their spirited 2-2 draw vs City last round. The draw now sees them only two points of 6th spot (with a game in hand over the Victory), showing a massive turnaround in form from their dismal start to the season. The Roar conceded goals in the 39th and 48th minutes of the game. But they also had a double via Inman, who scored his goals in the 34th and 48th minute also. Within the crazy space of 14 minutes, all four of this games goals had been produced. The Roar claimed a point from this affair despite owning just 38% of the ball. They shot 4/7 on target and had two of their shots blocked. They also completed 75% of their passes, good for 315/419. Of the field, Fowler is quite impressed with the turn around in form shown by Inman. He was dropped after RD6, but he has produced four goals in his past three games for Brisbane. ‘We’ve always said with Brad we’re big believers in him and we really want him to keep progressing and keep doing what he’s doing”. “He’s a great lad, he’s great in the dressing room. The lads all love him and you can see for yourself when he’s on fire … he’s a tremendous player”. For his teams sake, hopefully he can keep it going against Wellington on Saturday.
Wellington are now 4th on 21 points. They’ve now won 6/13 matches played this campaign. And they’re very impressively just two points of 2nd place. This all comes after their easy 2-0 victory over the Wanderers last round. Davila scored his 9th of the season as he opened the scoring in the 15th minute in style. He scored the opening goal with a fine individual effort as the former Chelsea man once again shun through for his on fire side. Cacace scored the games other goal in the 88th minute. This was an equal club record 9th game undefeated for Wellington. The Phoenix owned 53% of the ball and shot 2/8 on target. They also had a shot hit the woodwork. Outside of that, they completed 80% of their passes, that was good for 420/528. And they won 68 duels and 9 aerials. Chances are, come full-time in this one, they’ll have created club history against the Roar.
Past History- Four of the past seven games between these two sides have ended as draws. 0-0, 2-2, 0-0 and 3-3. The 3-3 was a particularly interesting one as there were four different goal-scorers responsible for the six total goals. Kaluderovic scored a double for the Nix, while Krishna also bagged one. For the Roar, then now infamous Maccarone scored twice, while Papadopoulos scored once. However, the latest affair played out between these two sides saw Wellington become victorious 2-1 at Westpac Stadium, on the 23rd of November, 2019. Taylor opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Davila backed him up in the 49th and Mauk created some tension when he got one back for the Roar five minutes from time. Wellington had 40% of the ball that day and Brisbane 60%. The Nix went 6/14 on target and Brisbane 4/10 hit the bulls-eye.
Betting tip: Pick Wellington to win at $2.38 (UniBet)
Also pick both teams to score at $1.50 (Bet365)
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Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets7:30 PM AEDT, AAMI Park |
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Last RD- Noone in the 39th minute and Atkinson in the 48th minute were the goal-scorers in City’s last round 2-all draw against Brisbane. The other goals from the Roar were scored in the 34th and 48th minutes, meaning that the match’s four goals, came within a 14 minute time-span. The draw means City are still in 2nd place, but they are 11 big points of 1st, despite having played as many games as the Sky Blues (13). Both of the Glory and the Nix are just two points each of City. They need a win against Newcastle to keep some breathing room in there. City owned 62% of the ball throughout the match and shot 7/22 on target. They had 7 of their shots blocked and they completed 87% of their passes. That was good for 612/706. They won 48 duels and 15 aerials. They made 12 tackles an conceded 8 fouls + a yellow. City should’ve really won this game in an attempt to close the gap on City, but they couldn’t.
Despite an awesome goal from outside the box to Ugarkovic, the Jets were unable to respond to Ernie Merrick’s sacking as they went down 2-1 to Sydney last round. There were some late calls for some spot-kicks, but it mattered little as the Jets suffered their 7th loss of the season from 12 games played. They are dead-last (11th spot) and have only two wins to their name. They also have an A-League worst GD of -15. To put that into comparison, the next worse is the CCM at -8, nearly half of that. Newcastle owned 51% of the ball and shot 4/14 on target. They also had a shot hit the woodwork. Outside of that, they completed 88% of their passes, good for 435/493. After the loss, Craig Deans has set out/will set out to change the losing mentality of the Jets. Before the match against the Sky Blues, he said most of the preparation for it was talking to the players and managing their mental well-being. “I think because in the last three or four games we’ve been losing by four goals, it’s maybe still in the back of their mind that they don’t want to lose, but if their mindset is negative, then you start to drop a bit too deep”. If he can change the current culture at the Jets, then all the more credit to him because of it. But he’s got one challenging road ahead, that’s for sure.
Past History- City have a pretty decent recent history against the Jets, as they’ve won 9 of their past 14 games played against them. The last match played between the two vastly different sides, was played on the 15th of December, 2019 at Hunter Stadium. Luna bagged a double with goals in the 3rd and 28th minutes of the game. While Cabrera scored in the 47th minute and Maclaren in the 59th. City shot 8/21 on target + a shot of the woodwork, with 46% of the ball. Newcastle had 54% of it and went an also respectable 6/14 on target. The last game the Jets won ended up 3-1 in their favor and that was the match before this one, also played out in Newcastle. Jair, Champness and O’Donovan were their goal-scorers that day and all three players are no longer with the club. Newcastle shot 5/9 on target, despite owning just 33% possession of the ball throughout the match.
Betting tip: Pick City to be victorious at $1.57 (SportsBet, BetEasy)
Also pick City to find the back of the net first at $1.48 (BetEasy)
Sunday, January 19
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Western United v Central Coast Mariners4:00 PM AEDT, GMHBA Stadium Stadium |
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Last RD- Western United had a bye last round, so their last game before that was RD13, where they suffered a tight and tense 3-2 defeat to City in the hotly anticipated newest edition of the Melbourne Derby. Maclaren scored in the 5th minute. Luna then scored again in the 36th minute, before Maclaren helped City reach three goals with his 2nd in the 44th minute. City were leading 3-0 at HT and the match looked to be all but over. Berisha then converted a 75th minute penalty attempt. Delbridge then saw red just three minutes later. And a minute later, after a converted Diamanti spit-kick, Western United were only a goal down. The scores ended at 3-2 in favor of City, but you can’t discredit Mark Rudan’s sides hugeee 2nd half come back. Western united owned 46% possession of the ball throughout the match. The shot 5/8 on target and shot 1 of target. They had two of their shots blocked and they completed a solid 82% of their passes. Those were good for 383/465. The result leaves them in 5th place on 17 points. They’re just two wins of 2nd. But they are also only four points ahead of 10th. They are right in the thick of a competitive race for several finals spots.
The Mariners beat the Victory 3-2 last round for their first victory over them in 7 years! Yes, 7 years! Here is how this absolutely hectic and craze-filled affair unfolded. The Victory scored a deflected goal. The Mariners equalized. They then had a goal ruled out courtesy of the VAR. The Victory took the lead via an OG. Matt Simon, the man, the Wizard of Woy Woy equalized the scores with a penalty in injury time. Simon then shortly after, in front of the Victory fans section, got in a fight, got yellow carded and had his shirt ripped. Come the 100th minute the absolute legend converted yet another penalty to give his side the simply historic and crazy win. And just to top it all of, Kurz was shown red at full-time and was forced to retreat back to the sheds. Peak A-League stuff right here, that’s for sure. You honestly couldn’t write it better. While the Mariners are still 10th, it represented an important 4th victory of the season for them. And now equally as important, they’re just two points of 6th spot.
Past History- The first and only time these two sides have played each other was at Bluetongue Stadium on the 24th of November, 2019. There the Mariners just scraped by with a tight 1-0 victory, The games only goal came via Gallifuoco in the 49th minute. The Mariners had 47% of the ball and shot 3/8 on target. They also had four of their shots blocked. United had 53% of it and went 6/22 on target. They had nine of their shots blocked. The Mariners completed 83% of their passes and Western United 84% of theirs. They were good for 365/441 and 416/493 respectively. The Mariners had two corners and United six. The Mariners also had 12 crosses to their 29, 54 Duels and 13 aerials were won by the Mariners. 44 And 17 were won by United. CCM leaked 8 fouls and 2 yellows. WU leaked 11 and 3. If it’s a close spectacle again, then it should be a treat to watch.
Betting tip: Pick the Mariners to prove to be victorious at $4.30 (UniBet)
Also pick the highest scoring half to be the 2nd at $1.96 (BetEasy)
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Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory6:30 PM AEDT, Bankwest Stadium |
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Last RD- Babbel’s seat continues to get hotter and hotter by the day as his side this time around suffered a 2-0 loss to Wellington. They conceded goals in the 15th and 88th minutes of the game. Despite having 47% of the ball throughout the game, the landed a dismal 2/14 shots on target. And they had six of their shots blocked to add to their misery. They completed 81% of their passes, which was good for 374/463. And they leaked 15 fouls all up + 3 yellows. They are now struggling in 8th spot. Despite being only a point out of the finals equation, they’ve lost a pretty bad 7/13 games played this season. And they have a poor GD of -6. Babbel has now called on his men to turn around their form and to salvage something from their so far dreadful season. His post-match interview lasted only a minute. Some of his cry for help to his players have been “We have to work harder. We aren’t the first team that are in this period.” “But we have to fight against this, it’s the only chance that we have.” “But if you can’t score then it’s very difficult to get results”. Let’s hope for his sake and his sides, that they can get something from their upcoming match against Perth.
Chianese in the 25th minute, Fornaroli in the 44th and Ikonimidis in the 68th were Perth’s three goal-scorers in their easy and comprehensive 3-0 victory over Adelaide last round. The win leaves them in 3rd place and was their 6th victory of the year. And on 21 points, they’re just two of 23 (which 2nd placed City are on). Perth won incredibly despite owning just 38% possession of the ball throughout the match. They shot 5 of target and had six blocked. They created four big chances and outside of that, they completed 76% of their passes. That was good for 256/337. They won 59 duels and 13 aerials. They made 17 tackles and gave up just 10 fouls + no yellows or reds.
Past History- Six of the past thirteen games played between these two sides have interestingly ended as draws. When it comes to these two sides, they’re hard to separate, that’s for sure. The last match contested between these two sides, was on the 14th of December, 2019, at NIB Stadium. Perth won there 2-0. Wutrich opened the scoring in the 18th minute. And Grant topped things of in the 66th minute. Perth had 41% of the ball and shot 6/16 on target. They also had a shot hit the woodwork once. Western Sydney owned 59% of the ball and yet they shot just 3/11 on target. They too had a shot hit the woodwork. Before that it was a frantic 2-1 FFA Cup clash win to WSW. Adam scored for the Red & Black in the 109th minute. Mrcela evened things up in the 114th minute. Then just three minutes later Yeboah scored the winner for the Wanderers. This game should be good to watch and that’s putting it lightly.
Betting tip: Pick Perth to be victorious and easily at that at $2.10 (SportsBet, UniBet, Bet365, BetEasy)
Pick the highest scoring half to be the 2nd at $2.00 (BetEasy)
Best Bet of the Round
Pick Perth to be victorious and easily at that at $2.10 (SportsBet, UniBet, Bet365, BetEasy)
Pick the highest scoring half to be the 2nd at $2.00 (BetEasy)