The following are previews with betting tips for Matchweek 5 of the 2021/22 A-League Men season.
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Friday, December 17
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Western United v Adelaide United7:45 PM AEDT, Lakeside Stadium |
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The differences between Western United and Adelaide United this season are fairly significant. The ‘Green & Black’ sit in equal 2nd with nine points, while The ‘Reds’ are languishing near the bottom of the ladder with three. John Aloisi’s side have also conceded just two goals across the space of four A-League Men encounters, while Carl Veart’s side let in two alone vs the Victory last round. Another dissimilarity includes Dylan Wenzel-Halls who has made the back of the net bulge twice already, whereas in comparison, the opposition have struggled to find a competent player to fit that department. Kusini Yengi has a single strike this campaign, yet outside of that the young Striker has severely struggled, landing just one shot on target, while a further six have been off.
These divergences are strongly highlighted by Western’s 1-0 home win over the Roar last time out, whereas Adelaide capitulated late to the Victory at Coopers Stadium, conceding goals in the 59th and 78th minutes to go down 2-1. They opponents weren’t at all aided by a late 88th minute Jason Davidson red card either. So, will the home sides defensive resilience pay off, or can Adelaide cause a shock at Albert Park?
Betting tips: Pick Western United to triumph at $2.30 (Sportsbet)
Also pick them to keep a clean sheet at $3.25 (bet365)
Saturday, December 18
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Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers5:05 PM AEDT, Central Coast Stadium |
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The Central Coast prevailed last weekend, as they bested Sydney FC 2-0 in Gosford, whereas for Western Sydney, they were utterly woeful in their 2-0 Derby defeat to Macarthur at CommBank Stadium. One side is trending in the right direction, while the other is having their blushes saved by a terrible ‘Sky Blues’ side as well as a testy Roar outfit. You only have to look at the fact that the Mariners opened the scoring just 13-minutes in through Marco Urena’s sweet left-footed effort, while only three-minutes later the score was doubled through an unfortunate Anthony Caceres own goal. They are a dangerous proposition under first-year coach Nick Montgomery and only further exemplifying that, is that the last H2H saw Bruce Kamau score in the 74th and 78th minutes for the Wanderers to steal a point away. If that brief magical period hadn’t occurred then no doubt the 17-shot Central Coast would’ve headed home with all three points.
31-year-old and 67X capped Costa Rican international Urena now has two goals this season, to back up his five from the previous season, while he’s also fashioned five shot assists as well. He was a key part in the Mariners unexpected run to the finals and now situated in 5th and only a win off 2nd, he appears to be doing it all again. Speed isn’t off the essence for him, so limiting his space and stifling the way in which he moves around with the ball will give Carl Robinson and his side the best possible chance of shutting him down. Because if he gets going then it’s all over. Will the former Copa Centroamericana Golden Boot winner lead his side to another triumph, or can the Wanderers get the job done?
Betting tips: Pick the Wanderers to triumph at $2.62 (Sportsbet)
Also pick them to find the back of the net last at $1.83 (bet365)
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Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory7:45 PM AEDT, AAMI Park |
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Forget ladder positions! Forget trophy wins! Forget everything you knew/know about Football and just remember this, two of the last three H2H encounters between these teams have seen City prevail seven and 6-0. Absolutely menacing scores! Games in which they shot 10/23 on target and 11/22 on target respectively. While if that weren’t enough to get your blood boiling, then no doubt this should be. City and Victory’s most recent match saw the game end in a 1-1 stalemate. However, there was so much to unpack from it then what meets the eye. One highlight being Nick Ansell’s own goal opening up the scoring for last seasons Champions/Premiers. While an Anthony Lesiotis strike was ruled out by VAR for offside in the 91st minute. And just four-minutes later it was Lleyton Brooks who stunningly equalised for the Victory, a team which owned just a paltry 35% of the ball all game long. These match-ups are relentless and these match-ups do not disappoint!
For the (strangely) hosts, one of Socceroo pair Jamie Maclaren or Andrew Nabbout need to step up to the plate and deliver, given their widely publicized struggles. Or alternatively ex-Bundesliga veteran Matt Leckie needs to conjour up something. He has had a strong, physical impact in Australia since arriving from Hertha BSC, however his individual stats don’t make for the prettiest of readings. He has zero goals, zero assists, has conceded four fouls, as well as having had the ball stolen off him on five separate occasions. Those are hardly the plays of a former Asian Cup + 2. Bundesliga winner! I suspect one of the three will play commandingly well here, however you cannot fully discount a rejuvenated Victory outfit either.
Betting tips: Look for the Victory to claim the upset win at $6.50 (bet365)
Also look for them to open the scoring at $3.20 (bet365)
And look for the 2nd half goals amount to be over 1.5 at $1.72 (bet365)
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Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory7:45 PM AEDT, Moreton Daily Stadium |
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Brisbane are dogged this season, while the flabbergasted Glory are not much better unfortunately. Brisbane sit in last place with just a solitary draw to their name so far, that while Perth aren’t faring much better, on only four points. Losing Jamie Young to Western United over the off-season has severely hindered the Roar’s once fearsome defence, while the continuous lack of Daniel Sturridge and his unique skillets have blasted the Glory deeply. In the Roar’s latest 0-0 efforts against Adelaide in Adelaide, they shot a very respectable 6/11 on target, yet their finishing touch was woeful, as five of their shots landed off target against an average at best ‘Reds’ side. As for Perth they earned a lot more plaudits in their tight and tense 1-0 midweek defeat to City at AAMI Park. As the home side forced through the winner on the 88-minute mark. The Glory also did considerably well considering they owned just 35% possession of the ball throughout the match.
Only adding to the potential of these two sides clash, was that when they last met, the Roar came through in what was a very closely contested 2-1 win at Dolphin Stadium. An own goal via Johnathan Aspropotamitis opened the scoring 51-in for Brisbane, while it was 2-0 18-minutes later as Riku Danzaki buried the ball into the bottom left corner. However, five-minutes from time Brandon Wilson made a game of it as he pulled one back for the Glory, through his brilliant close-range effort. This match doesn’t need the stars to shine, because each side works better as a whole when the whole team is on point anyway.
Betting tips: Pick Perth to etch out a victory here at $3.30 (bet365)
Also pick Bruno Fornaroli to score anytime at $2.62 (bet365)
While you can also pick the corners taken in-between 00:00 to 09:59 to be over 0.5 at $1.50 (bet365)
Sunday, December 19
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Macarthur FC v Newcastle Jets4:05 PM AEDT, Campbelltown Stadium |
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The ‘Bulls’ are firing on all cylinders at the moment, despite the key absence of Ulises Davila and as a result they’re sitting pretty in 1st. Meanwhile the Jets through four games played have lost just a single one and are most recently coming off a trouncing, where they beat the ‘Nix’ at home four goals to zip! They saw Beka Mikeltadze open the scoring and his account for the Jets in the 32nd minute and by the 52nd he had a double. Dylan Murrane (69th min) and Daniel Penha (80th) would add further salt to the scoreline in the blowout triumph. And linking back to the ‘Bulls’ they too were pretty comprehensive in victory, as they claimed a classy 2-0 win over the Wanderers at CommBank Stadium, as they shot 5/9 on target + had a shot hit the woodwork, despite owning just 35% possession of the ball throughout the entirety of their encounter.
Throughout four games so far, Macarthur have conceded just one goal! And that was given away via a stupid penalty to Wellington all the way back in RD1. While for Newcastle, they’ve gone all out in attack under new head coach Arthur Papas and it’s paying off big time for them. So far throughout the A-League Men campaign they’ve fashioned nine strikes. Will the ‘Bulls’ defence stand strong? Or can Newcastle’s rejuvenated attack come to the rescue?
Filip Kurto who’s averaging 4.5 saves per match, along with Mikeltadze, who in addition to his two strikes, has conjured up nine shot assists and 110 accurate passes (86% completion rate) are the two men who are the key to the equation in this affair.
Betting tips: Pick the ‘Bulls’ to triumph at $2.14 (Unibet)
And also pick the total goals scored to be over 2.5 at $1.83 (Unibet)
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Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix6:45 PM AEDT, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium |
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Sydney have claimed just two paltry points this season and currently sit 11th on the ladder, as Wellington are just two positions above them, with both sides having struggled to implement their game plans to large extents this season. This is only further highlighted by the fact that Sydney were smacked silly by the Mariners last round, in their 2-0 defeat on the Central Coast. That while Wellington were thrashed 4-0 by the Jets in Newcastle. Two unrecognizable results leaving both Steve Corica and Ufuk Talay in uncharted waters. Now the two former ‘Sky Blues’ teammates are left to battle it out on the sidelines, in what they can only hope will be a turning point for each of their respective sides, with Sydney in particular facing trouble.
However, Wellington may be better placed to claim a result in Kogarah given they’ve already rebounded strongly from their humiliation vs Newcastle, having claimed a strong 4-1 FFA Cup win over Avondale FC midweek. With Joushua Sotirio finding the back of the net twice in the early stages (4th and 14th minutes), as well as Ben Waine 24-in. While Luka Prso made it four late on, with his strong left-footed effort finding land on the 81-minute mark. While the opposition in comparison are still easing Bobo back in, while Ryan Grant is still out with COVID, not to mention the other players they have battling injury woes. Talay knows what it means to play for Sydney and he may well know how to oust them as well!
Betting tips: Look for both teams to make the back of the net bulge at $1.68 (Unibet)
While you can also look for the total goals scored in the first half to be over 0.5 at $1.30 (Unibet)
Best Bets of the Round
Look for the Victory to claim the upset win at $6.50 (bet365)
Also look for them to open the scoring at $3.20 (bet365)
And look for the 2nd half goals amount to be over 1.5 at $1.72 (bet365)