The following are previews with betting tips for Round 20 of the 2022/23 A-League Mens season.
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Friday, March 10
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Perth Glory v Western Sydney Wanderers10:00pm AEDT, HBF Park |
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At Mars Stadium last round the Glory were good, but ultimately not good enough, as they fell on their swords in a 2-1 defeat to the hosts, ala Western United. Jordan Elsey saw his 22nd-minute strike open the account for their matchup + despite shooting 7/18 on target, Ruben Zadkovich’s Men just didn’t take advantage of what was presented to them, which cost them mightily in the end. As they now sit a far way back off a finals berth, seven points. And in a different part of the country in Parramatta, it was decisive Attacker Brandon Borrello who continued to push his case for an upcoming Socceroos jersey, as he craftily laid on his eighth goal of the campaign. That contributing heavily to his Wanderers 2-0 win over the Mariners. The win pushed them all the way up to 2nd-spot, whilst this is also Borrello’s best ever scoring season, having nearly doubled his previous best tally of five strikes in a domestic season. However putting a damper on the affair will be the absence of Marcelo who saw red early into the second-half.
Perth are undefeated against Western Sydney in 13 of their last 14 matches played at home. Traditionally the Wanderers haven’t fared too well in Western Australia and as the Glory seek to desperately capture a finals spot, that’s a point they’ll no doubt be looking to ram home in this tasty affair. Leading the charge for the hosts, David Williams comes to mind. Two games ago he played just 29-minutes in what was a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Roar, however last time out he played the full 90 versus Western United. As the A-League veteran was quite influential, registering two shot assists, 24 accurate passes (89% completion rate), 2/2 won tackles and 2/3 won aerial duels. Meanwhile the 35-year-old has also conjured up three goals from his last six appearances. For a relatively young Glory side he has been quite potent this season. And when he last faced the Wanderers earlier this season, he played a vital part in his teams 1-0 victory. Look for him to be active up front once again, as his hosting side attempt to claim an upset victory.
Betting tips: Back a Wanderers win at $2.34 (BoomBet)
Also back there to be over 2.5 goals at $1.90 (Bet365)
Saturday, March 11
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Central Coast Mariners v Macarthur FC7:45pm AEDT, Industree Group Stadium |
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Having been presented with a brilliant opportunity to both further consolidate 2nd-place, as well as keep the heat on City in 1st, the Mariners instead stumbled all the way down the stairs at CommBank Stadium. As they were thoroughly beaten by the Wanderers 2-0. Despite owing the glut of possession at 60% and having peppered away 15 shots at the ‘Red & Black’s’ defence they were still unable to get anything out of their one-sided encounter. Beni Nkololo’s 64th-minute red card just further adding to their woes. Meanwhile for Macarthur they boosted their Top Six chances significantly at Campbelltown Stadium, as they won a thrilling 3-2 matchup versus Brisbane. With the scores locked at two strikes a piece, Jake McGing stood up massively in the 90+5 minute as his lethal header found refuge in the back of the net and secured the hosts all three incredibly vital points.
On the road this season the ‘Bulls’ have resembled anything but their emblem as they have won just 2/9. As if that wasn’t enough, they have fashioned just nine strikes yet conceded 22. YIKES! And playing against a Mariners team that have won five + drawn two of their 10 matches contested at Industree Group Stadium this season, Macarthur’s prospects of getting something out of this clash appear to be pretty low. Prior to their last round win versus Brisbane, Macarthur had lost five out of their last seven and it’s no coincidence that part of the streak coincided with Ulises Davila being out. The influential leader can only do his work from the sidelines now and Macarthur’s attack has struggled big time. Despite scoring 15 goals in his nine competitive matches for APIA Leichhardt, its too much to expect of new signing 28-year-old Attacker Jason Romero to replace the injured and former Chelsea player. However if anyone can help drag the ‘Bulls’ back up then it may as well be him, because he’s worked incredibly hard to be presented this opportunity with Macarthur.
Betting tips: Look for an easy Mariners win at $1.57 (BlueBet)
Also look for them to score first at $1.40 (Bet365)
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Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United7:45pm AEDT, McDonald Jones Stadium |
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The Jets woeful away record continued on last Saturday afternoon, as they went down 2-1 to the Phoenix at Westpac Stadium. And despite Manabu Saito, the former Yokohama Mariner, opening his account for Newcastle on the 51-minute mark, it still wasn’t enough to deliver his side a triumph. And it was a shame too! As they certainly had plenty of chances to win the match, 18 shots in fact, six of which were on target. As for Adelaide their supporters once again made Hindmarsh Stadium BOOM, as 10,270 of them turned up to watch their beloved hosts put on a quality show, beating Melbourne City thoroughly 4-2. The pick of the highlights being a typically well-worked Craig Goodwin strike occurring 50-in and a simply spectacular Nestory Irankunda goal occurring 85-onwards as he wowed the crowd with his sharp pace from afar, in addition to his clean finishing skills. Adelaide to their credit currently occupy 3rd-spot on the ladder and are just six-points off off league leaders City.
The ‘Reds’ have prevailed in nine of their last 12 matchups against the Jets. And in just a few weeks it’ll be five years to the day, 23rd of March 2018, that Adelaide famously thrashed Newcastle 5-2 in an utter display of dominance before 7,227 adoring spectators at Coopers Stadium. The pick of the bunch that day was Daniel Adlung scoring twice within the games opening 45-minutes, as the former Bundesliga winner and FFA Cup (now Australia Cup) victor put on an absolute performance to remember. Whilst Adelaide themselves shot a dominant 8/17 on target, despite having just 46% ownage of the ball. And with Newcastle having lost four of their nine matches contested at McDonald Jones Stadium this season, it’s not out of the realms of possibility to expect a similar scoreline to occur here. Especially so when you factor in that the ‘Reds’ just barged four past City. As such this could be a very high-scoring matchup, make no two guesses about it!
Betting tips: Look for Adelaide to win at $2.46 (BoomBet)
Also look for there to be over 3.5 strikes scored at $2.37 (Bet365)
Sunday, March 12
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Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC1:00pm AEDT, Sky Stadium |
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The Phoenix are now impressively just three-points off 2nd-place after their encouraging 2-1 victory over the Jets at Westpac Stadium last round. Callan Elliot opened the scoring just before the stroke of half-time, whilst a cooly converted Oskar Zawada spot kick six-minutes into added injury time during H1 basically assured the ‘Nix’ of all three-points before they even entered the sheds. That was the lethal Strikers 11th goal of the campaign. So far he has totally and utterly eclipsed his previous best tally of goals in a season, which came via six with Wilsa Plock back in Poland during 2019/20. Whilst for Sydney they too claimed a significant scalp last round, beating the Victory 1-0 in their spiritual home of Moore Park. Not long before the half-time siren sounded Anthony Caceres found the back of the net from a difficult angle, much to he, his teammates and the crowds delight. This marked the second time this season from as many affairs that Sydney have toppled Melbourne. And as each week comes and goes, they continue to look better and better with regards to pinching a finals berth. However with no Max Burgess due to a red card sustained in the Big Blue, things will be tough against Wellington.
Ufuk Talay competing against the team whom he won an A-League Championship and an Oceania Club Championship with is always interesting. Following his sides heroic 1-0 win over Sydney earlier this season, in which Ollie Sail made himself massive to deny the hosts two penalty conversions late on at Allianz Stadium 90+7 in and 90+9 in, as well as Wellington receiving two red cards, heated words were exchanged between himself and Steve Corica during the latter stages of the affair. There was no love lost between the two former teammates and coaches, as this encounter shapes up to be not much different. Talay to his credit is doing wonderful things with the Phoenix this season, as he has gotten them playing a suffocating type of defence, led by the likes of Sail and ex-Manchester United Defender Scott Wooton. And it’s that exact defence that could potentially pose the ‘Sky Blues’ a lot of problems as they’ll be missing the likes of Adam Le Fondre and Max Burgess, two of their main attackers. UPSET ALERT, UPSET ALERT, UPSET ALERT is very much on the cards here.
Betting tip: Look for both teams to find refuge in the back of the net at $1.56 (BoomBet)
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Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar3:00pm AEDT, AAMI Park |
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Last round Melbourne City suffered a rare loss, just their third of the season to date as they went down 4-2 against the ‘Reds’ in Adelaide. In defence of City they played well, the hosts were just better. However some picks of the bunch for Melbourne was Andrew Nabbout opening the scoring just nine-minutes in after he forged some space to let the ball fly. Whilst Marco Tilio was technically brilliant as always, as evidenced through his second-half strike, the young Socceroos Midfielder’s fifth of the campaign. And the visitors certainly weren’t without some benefits either. As they owned 58% possession of the ball, alongside having shot a handy 6/19 on target. Not to despair though, as they still currently occupy 1st-spot and are two victories clear of 2nd. As for the Roar in Campbelltown they were perhaps a tad unlucky, as they fell to the ‘Bulls’ 3-2. As a 90+5 minute header from Jake McGing shattered their hearts and a chance at a share of the spoils, coming only mere minutes after Jordan Courtney Perkins was given his marching orders. And it was incredibly dejecting at that given they had fought hard to peg it back to two goals a piece via Jay O’Shea’s 78th-minute strike and Jez Lofthouse evening things up just two-minutes later. Currently Brisbane need to restore some pride onto their once feared and famed jersey.
Since the start of 2018 Brisbane have collected a grand total of just three wins against Melbourne. They struggle big time against one of the A-League’s best and it certainly doesn’t help them when Jamie Maclaren, a lethal Striker who scored 40 goals across his 53 games for the club, continuously torches them whenever he faces off against his ex-employers. As the former Harry Kewell Medal recipient has scored two goals from his last two games against Brisbane. And given he’s also fashioned two doubles from his last two contests at AAMI Park, as he seems primed to take advantage of a struggling Roar side right here. The man who has 18 goals this season will no doubt have yet another performance to remember against Brisbane, as things have the potentially to turn very ugly very quickly here.
Betting tips: Back City to triumph easily at $1.44 (BlueBet)
Also back Jamie Maclaren to score anytime at $1.48 (BoomBet)
Monday, March 13
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Melbourne Victory v Western United6:00pm AEDT, AAMI Park |
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A 1-0 loss at Allianz Stadium in the ‘Big Blue’ curtailed Melbourne last Saturday evening, as they fought their arch-rivals until the very end, but ultimately came up empty handed. However it will be a loss of particular frustration to Tony Popovic as his former side registered just two shots the entire game, nothing in comparison to the Victory’s 15. And it was Andrew Redmayne who denied them on multiple occasions (four times), stopping their lethal finishers from doing their job properly. This heavy hearted defeat means that Melbourne are still last on 18 points and are a long, long way off playing finals Football. Meanwhile for the ‘Green & Black’ they moved one step closer to the Top Six and in the process are now just five-points off it, after they toppled the Glory 2-1 at Mars Stadium. Their much needed reprieve came courtesy of strikes from Congo Doumbia on the 42-minute mark and Noah Botic just six-minutes later. John Aloisi’s Men looking particularly alive as of late.
With Melbourne anchored to the bottom of the ladder and John Aloisi’s Western United looking a far picture of what they were last season, the circumstances headed into this Derby are actually quite abjectly depressing for both teams. The Victory because of their massive stature start every season with Top Six hopes at the absolute bare minimum and they’ve been nowhere near that sort of level at all this campaign. Whilst you can barely remember that Western are the reigning Championship winners, such has been their arguably sorry defence of their title so far this season. Tony Popovic represented the Socceroos on 58 prestigious occasions, while Aloisi played for them 55 amazing times. Yet despite the intrigue and heated words there should be headed into this Derby, alongside both managers being legends of the game both in Australia and abroad, I’m really struggling to see how either side will get up for this one! I’m projecting a pretty disappointing clash with a result to match! Because meh …
Betting tip: Back there to be 9+ corners at $1.28 (Bet365)
Best Bets of the Round – Perth Glory vs Western Sydney
Back a Wanderers win at $2.34 (BoomBet)
Also back there to be over 2.5 goals at $1.90 (Bet365)