The following are previews with betting tips for the fourth week of the resumption of the 2019/20 A-League season.
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Monday, August 3
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Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners7:30 PM AEST, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium |
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Last RD- Melbourne are all but now resigned to finishing their campaign in 2nd last spot on the ladder. Mathematically they cannot go higher or lower. And their last games are all about planning for next season and putting both some pride and respect back onto the once mightily feared Victory badge. Their last hit-out was a 2-1 defeat to Brisbane. Their sole goal of the match came via an 86th minute consolation strike to Andrew Nabbout. With 55% ownage of the ball, the Victory shot a bad 4/18 on target, as they also had a shot hit the woodwork. They also completed a decent 85% of their passes. Something which was good for 451/530. And they won 53 duels and 15 aerial duels as well. But fouls-wise they were poor, as they gave up 14 and a yellow. The Victory have a very, very strong chance here to claim just their 6th win of the campaign. But whether they’ll be up to the task or not, remains to be seen.
The Mariners so far this season are the only club worse then the Victory. They are currently 11th and dead-last, with only 4 wins on the year. However, their latest efforts were something decent as they held the Wanderers to a 1-1 draw. Djuric scored in the 59th minute for the Gosford-based side. That was before an 88th minute Cox equalizer saw the game become what the score-line eventually proved to be. The Central Coast owned 52% of the ball and managed to shoot a decent 7/16 on target as well. They also had a shot hit the woodwork, as they completed 82% of their passes. That was something that was solid for 374/456. They made 18 tackles. And they also leaked 14 fouls, but just the 1 yellow. Could the Mariners cause an upset here?
Past History- The Victory have dominated recent proceedings between these two sides. They have won 14 of their past 18 clashes against the Central Coast. However surprisingly the Mariners won the last affair played between the two sides, 3-2 in Gosford. That day Matt Simon scored in the 94th minute and then again in the 100th, to give the Central Coast the absolutely hectic victory.
Betting tip: Pick the Victory to win at $1.96 (BetEasy)
Also pick them to score last at $1.72 (BetEasy)
Tuesday, August 4
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Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory7:30 PM AEST, BankWest Stadium |
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Last RD- For the Wanderers, it was Yeboah who struck gold in the 73rd minute of his sides match against Wellington, to give them a tight one-nil victory, just their 8th of the season. But it’s now enough to see them only four points out of a Top 6 position. With 46% possession of the ball, they still managed to fire away 14 shots. But only 3 of them landed on the target. They also completed a solid 81% of their passes. Something that was good for 334/411. But fouls-wise they were very ill-disciplined, as they gave away 20 on the evening. However their opposition were no better, as they conceded a 65th minute red card to DeVere. It is do or die for them right here against the Glory.
For Perth, they are in 5th, after their 5-3 loss to Adelaide last round. A loss that leaves them on 34 points, equal with 6th spot and only 3 points ahead of the Jets and 4 of W.U. They scored their goals via Popovic in the 33rd minute, Fornaroli in the 74th minute and Juande in the 83rd. But they leaked strikes in the 27th, 29th, 38th, 45th and 63rd mins of the match. With 60% ownage of the ball, they shot 4/15 on target. They also completed a strong 84% of their passes, good for 483/574. And they leaked a high 14 fouls + 1 yellow. They need a victory here to stay in 5th spot. They simply need it.
Past History- The Glory have won 3 of their past 5 clashes against WSW. Their winning score-lines have been, 1-0, 2-0 and 4-3. The last match they played saw Perth prevail 1-0 at Bankwest. The sole goal of the game came via Fornaroli in the 6th minute. The Wanderers dominated possession with 62% and the shots with 22. But they came up short in almost every possible way, as they shot just 2 on target the entire game.
Betting tip: Pick WSW to be victorious at $2.80 (BetEasy, Unibet)
Also pick them to score first at $2.05 (Bet365)
Wednesday, August 5
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Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar6:00 PM AEST, BankWest Stadium |
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Last RD- Wellington were outdone by a classy Wanderers side last round, as they went down 1-0. Things were even up until late in the game (73rd min), that’s when Yeboah scored to give the opposition the lead and what proved to be the eventual game clinching goal. That leaves them in 3rd on the ladder, 3 points of 2nd placed Melbourne City. They shot a dreadful 1/6 on target, despite owning 54% possession of the ball. They did however have 2 blocked shots. And they also had 1 come of the woodwork. Their passing game was strong, being as it was at a 82% completion rate. Something that was good for 409/496. They won 56 duels and 14 aerial duels. Whilst they leaked 12 fouls, 2 yellows and a red. The red coming in the 65th minute after a foul from DeVere. They need a win here to stay in touch with City and to also avoid being overtaken by the Roar.
Brisbane are now only 2 points behind Wellington, their opposition for this game, after they produced a strong 2-1 win over the Victory last round. They produced goals via McDonald in the 56th min and also via Ridenton in the 78th min. And with only 45% ownage of the ball, they still managed to go 5/15 on target throughout the course of the game. And their passes were completed a solid 81% hit rate, good for 336/414. They also won 64 duels and 18 aerial duels. Whilst they leaked 15 fouls and 1 yellow. Brisbane are producing some fine form, that despite the departure of Robbie Fowler. A win here and they’re in 3rd place. They’ll be hungry as ever to beat the Nix in this encounter.
Past History- Brisbane have won 2 of the past 3 games played between these two sides. And both of those victories have been at Suncorp Stadium. They have won 1-0 and prior to that, it was 2-1. The 1-0 affair came back on the 18th of JAN, this year. Their the games only goal came through Wenzel-Halls in the 69th minute. Both sides were poor with their shooting in this encounter. BRI went just 4/15 on target and WEL only 3/20.
Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to win at $3.00 (Bet365, Unibet)
Also pick both teams to score at $1.66 (Bet365)
Thursday, August 6
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Adelaide United v Sydney FC7:30 PM AEST, ANZ Stadium |
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Last RD- 5-3 Was the score-line for the Reds last round, as they toppled the Glory in what was a high-scoring and highly-entertaining clash at Bankwest Stadium. It was also a critical result for Adelaide as it took them one step closer to a much coveted finals berth. That especially so with the likes of Newcastle and Western United chasing quickly behind them. Jakobsen scored the first goal of the game in the 27th min, which started the onslaught. After that Adelaide had goals via Brook (29th min), Opseth (38th min), Halloran (45th min) and Niyongabire (63rd min). Whilst they leaked goals in the 33rd, 74th and 83rd mins of the match. And to highlight their effort, they managed to shoot 7/11 on target, despite only having 40% possession of the ball. They’ll be quietly confident of causing an upset against a struggling Sydney side here.
For the Sky Blues, their patchy post-COVID resumption form continued as they went down 2-0 to City in Homebush on Saturday night. First Noone scored for Melbourne in the 57th min and then Maclaren just 11 minutes later, which all but signified that the match was over. It was a very disappointing effort from the recently crowned Minor Premiers. And it leaves Sydney looking a bit vulnerable heading into the A-League finals with this loss, compounded by their also-recent defeat to Newcastle. Whilst it took them to the last couple of minutes to beat the Nix as well. They had 49% of the ball, but shot a paltry 2/9 on target. Expect Sydney to be seeking a strong bounce-back performance right here.
Past History- Sydney have been victorious in 9 of their past 12 contested clashes against Adelaide. And the latest one came on the 4th of JAN this year, at Jubilee Stadium, where the Sky Blues prevailed 2-1 in what was a tight contest. In that clash, Retre scored a double in the 20th and 26th minutes of the game. Whilst McGree got one back just 12 minutes later. SYD were clinical as they shot 10/20 on target + having a shot bounce of the woodwork. That despite only having 43% possession of the ball.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to claim the rebound victory at $2.34 (BetEasy)
Also pick the Sky Blues to find the back of the net first at $1.72 (Bet365)
Friday, August 7
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Western United v Western Sydney Wanderers7:30 PM AEST, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium |
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Last RD- W.U. played quite poorly indeed as they missed a massive chance to close the gap on Adelaide, with a sorry 1-0 loss to the Jets. And it’s now one that has left them in 8th spot, a big 4 points of 6th position. Despite owning 47% possession of the ball throughout the game, they shot just 3/13 shots on target throughout the entire match. + They also had a shot bounce of the woodwork. Their passes were done strongly at an 81% completion rate. That is something that was good for 400/491. Whilst they were also victorious in 45 duels and 12 aerial duels. And they gave up 12 fouls + 2 yellows. W.U. still have the advantage games-wise when it comes to securing 6th spot. But they need to make it count against the Wanderers right here with a win.
For the Wanderers, it was Yeboah who struck gold in the 73rd minute of his sides match against Wellington, to give them a tight one-nil victory, just their 8th of the season. But it’s now enough to see them only four points out of a Top 6 position. With 46% possession of the ball, they still managed to fire away 14 shots. But only 3 of them landed on the target. They also completed a solid 81% of their passes. Something that was good for 334/411. But fouls-wise they were very ill-disciplined, as they gave away 20 on the evening. However their opposition were no better, as they conceded a 65th minute red card to DeVere. They need a win and only a win here against W.U. to keep their faint finals hopes alive.
Past History- In the 2 affairs that these sides have played out, a 1-1 draw was the result in the most recent one. And before that it was a 2-1 win to United. The 1-1 encounter saw Ziegler struck first in the 79th minute to land what would’ve been the seemingly lethal blow. But 8 minutes later Calver got one back for the away-side to claim a dramatic point. The difference in the sides was pretty big. WSW went 4/19 on target and W.U. 2/4.
Betting tip: Pick the Wanderers to win at $2.80 (BetEasy) and to score last when the match odds become available.
Saturday, August 8
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Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory5:00 PM AEST, BankWest Stadium |
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Last RD- For Perth, they are in 5th, after their 5-3 loss to Adelaide last round. A loss that leaves them on 34 points, equal with 6th spot and only 3 points ahead of the Jets and 4 of W.U. They scored their goals via Popovic in the 33rd minute, Fornaroli in the 74th minute and Juande in the 83rd. But they leaked strikes in the 27th, 29th, 38th, 45th and 63rd mins of the match. With 60% ownage of the ball, they shot 4/15 on target. They also completed a strong 84% of their passes, good for 483/574. And they leaked a high 14 fouls + 1 yellow. They should be able to turn around their patchy form here with a win over the struggling Victory. And you’d expect nothing less of Tony Popovic’s men either.
Melbourne are all but now resigned to finishing their campaign in 2nd last spot on the ladder. Mathematically they cannot go higher or lower. And their last games are all about planning for next season and putting both some pride and respect back onto the once mightily feared Victory badge. Their last hit-out was a 2-1 defeat to Brisbane. Their sole goal of the match came via an 86th minute consolation strike to Andrew Nabbout. With 55% ownage of the ball, the Victory shot a bad 4/18 on target, as they also had a shot hit the woodwork. They also completed a decent 85% of their passes. Something which was good for 451/530. And they won 53 duels and 15 aerial duels as well. But fouls-wise they were poor, as they gave up 14 and a yellow. If they don’t start strong, Perth very well have the potential to make it rain goals on them.
Past History- The Victory have a poor record against Perth. Over the duration of their last 20 clashes, they have only won 7 of them. And the last match they played out, proved to be a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 draw. Toivonen scored first in the 23rd minute. Then Fornaroli got one in the 47th minute. Nabbout found the back of the net 11 minutes later. And this was all before D’Agostino scored the late, late equalizer for the Glory in the 90th minute.
Betting tip: Pick Perth to be victorious at $1.67 (Sportsbet) and for the 2nd half to be the highest scoring half of the match when the match odds become available.
Best Bet of the Round
Pick Brisbane to win at $3.00 (Bet365, Unibet) vs WEL
Also pick both teams to score at $1.66 (Bet365) in BRI vs WEL