The following are previews with betting tips for Round 25 of the 2022/23 A-League Men season.
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Friday, April 21
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Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix7:45pm AEST, CommBank Stadium |
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For the famous ‘Red & Black’ victory here would at least temporarily catapult them into 2nd-place on the ladder. Meanwhile for the spirited Phoenix proving triumphant would give them a significant edge in avoiding some more difficult sides throughout the first week of the finals. However if Ufuk Talay wishes to give his farewell tour one final push then it certainly won’t be easy, with Marko Rudan’s Men having prevailed in seven and drawn two of their 12 home appearances this campaign. Alongside that making matters worse for the visitors is the fact that Western Sydney have also won four and drawn one out of their last seven competitive clashes. That’s in stark comparison to Wellington who’ve lost three out of their last four and two of those by heavy scorelines at that. As they’ve lost 4-1 to Melbourne City and 5-1 against Adelaide United. Perhaps the visitors can draw some inspiration from their latest outing in Parramatta though, as a quick-fire Sam Sutton strike in just the 3rd-minute eventually aided them to beat the Wanderers 2-1 in what was a thoroughly entertaining display of Football. A frantic affair too in which the Phoenix produced just nine shots at goal. Regardless of whether it’s the Wanderers free-flowing attack or the Phoenix’s rustic defence that prevails, this clash is guaranteed to be an absolute belter.
Latest results; Western Sydney won 2-1 vs Melbourne Victory @ CommBank Stadium and Wellington drew 2-2 vs Brisbane @ Eden Park.
Latest H2Hs; Wellington have triumphed in three of their last five games against Western Sydney, having also kept them scoreless twice over that period.
Betting tip: Look for this affair to have over 2.5 goals within it at $1.66 (Bet365)
Saturday, April 22
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Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners5:00pm AEST, McDonald Jones Stadium |
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The F3 Derby has all the hate you could possibly want! Not to mention the absolute divine skillsets as well, as this tasty affair should have it all! The hosting Jets must win under any and all circumstances in order to keep their Top Six hopes afloat. Meanwhile for the visiting Mariners 2nd-position on the table is locked within their eyesight, so a victory could 110% do miraculous wonders for their campaign as well. So expect it to all be left out there on the field. Because the last time these two teams locked horns in Newcastle it was certainly a battle worthy of two teams that had it all to compete for. A 4-2 Mariners triumph saw Jason Cummings score twice within the space of seven-minutes, a late Garang Kuol strike in the 90+1st minute and a first-half opener from Matheus Moresche fashioned their goals. Whilst for the Jets from minutes 46-50 it was pure ecstasy as they pegged the score back to 3-2 after a Lucas Mauragis strike and an unfortunate own goal from Jacob Farrell. The Derby possessed plenty of drama as well as a disallowed goal late into the game curtailed the Jets hopes of a late comeback, whilst Daniel Penha was also on the receiving end of a sending off from referee Kurt Ams. Alongside the combined 12 shots on target and 33 heavy fouls dished out, it truly did have it all. So I expect the same to be produced right here on Saturday afternoon.
Latest results; Newcastle won 2-1 against Macarthur @ McDonald Jones Stadium and the Central Coast drew 1-1 against Melbourne City @ Industree Group Stadium.
Latest H2Hs; The Mariners have won six of their last eight clashes against the Jets, including a most recent 3-0 thrashing last year.
Betting tips: Back a Mariners dub at $2.10 (BlueBet)
Also back them to open the scoring at $1.66 (Bet365)
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Western United v Melbourne City7:45pm AEST, AAMI Park |
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It’s one bloody brilliant Saturday for derbies as right after ‘The Battle of the F3’ we have last years reigning championship winners Western United playing off against the current glamour boys of Victoria in the form of Melbourne City. The ‘Green & Blacks’ finals hopes are currently in a pretty precarious place, but still doable, so they’ve got everything to play for at the moment. Especially so in light of the recent retirement announcement from former AFC Champions League victor Nikolai Toper-Stanley. Whilst Melbourne just wrapped up their third consecutive Premiership, to which a massive congratulations to them is very well-deserved. So they may indeed rest some key players, giving John Aloisi’s side a real chance of getting up here. However if they are to do so then they will need Aleksander Prijovic to give things a real crack. The ageing Serbian Striker hasn’t been all that flash this season with just five strikes to his name. However in a campaign riddled with errors for the club, he has still undoubtedly proven to be one of their stronger performers. So if City do decide to go down the route of youth for this matchup then the former 2X Greek Cup winner with PAOK should be decisively ready to take advantage of their inexperience with some lethal moves up front. He is more than capable of winning the ‘hosts’ this game, but City will more than likely have some surprises up their sleeves to.
Latest results; Melbourne drew 1-1 vs the Central Coast @ Industree Group Stadium and Western United beat Adelaide 1-0 @ Hindmarsh Stadium.
Latest H2Hs; The last time they met Melbourne won 4-0 and scored twice inside the opening 12-minutes.
Betting tips: Choose a City victory at $1.77 (BoomBet)
Also choose there to be nine + corners throughout at $1.25 (Bet365)
Sunday, April 23
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Melbourne Victory v Macarthur FC3:00pm AEST, AAMI Park |
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Last weekend the Victory went down to Western Sydney 2-1 at CommBank Stadium. Meanwhile Macarthur suffered the exact same fate at the hands of Newcastle inside of McDonald Jones Stadium. And in a nutshell that sums up both sides poor efforts this campaign! They have combined to win just 14/48 games! And the hosts sit in last on the ladder on 25 points, whilst the ‘Bulls’ are just one ahead on 26. So this is in fact the battle for the dreaded Wooden Spoon. And I’ll tell you this right now, I somewhat amazingly expect it to be Melbourne who get up for this game, sending the reigning Australia Cup winners crashing down the ladder. The Victory are a proud, proud club and Tony Popovic is a proud, proud coach. It’s increasingly difficult to see them getting sunk in front of their loyal home supporter base. This is where Bruno Fornaroli comes into play, as the passionate Socceroo has scored three goals from his last six appearances for Melbourne and is one of their few players this year to have showed any sort of ticker and any sort of heart out on the pitch. And despite his team losing versus the Wanderers last round, he still competed hard for the full 90-minutes in which he was out there. The former City turned Victory Striker will need to have a big game in order to counter the ‘Bulls’ at AAMI Park, but I reckon he’ll do just that in a tight one.
Latest results; Melbourne lost 2-1 against Western Sydney @ CommBank Stadium and Macarthur lost 2-1 against Newcastle @ McDonalds Jones Stadium.
Latest H2Hs; Melbourne have won their last three straight games against Macarthur, via an aggregate scoreline of 8-2.
Betting tip: Look for both sides to score at $1.65 (BoomBet)
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Perth Glory v Adelaide United6:00pm AEST, HBF Park |
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The rivalries keep on pouring in! Next up on the list is the valiant Perth versus the youth-fuelled Adelaide. The Glory really need to reap the ‘glory’ from this game as anything but a win will essentially render their season over and done with. Whilst for the ‘Reds’ they need to embody that of their English counterparts Liverpool and play some fun attacking Football, you know the stuff they usually do, in order to remain in 2nd-position on the ladder. Perth though might have some pretty devious plans for the visitors given that from 11 attempts this season, they’ve lost just the once in Western Australia. Meanwhile Adelaide have gone just 4/12 on the road. So there is absolutely every chance of a monumental upset occurring right here! Because the hosts have a few young talents of their own rising through the ranks including 21-year-old Goal Keeper Cameron Cook. With the lively Goalie having kept three clean sheets this season, whilst also averaging an impressive 2.93 saves per match. And there’s also Keegan Jelacic of course! With the 20-year-old and Australia U23s rep having played in 20 clashes for the Glory this season. As he’s fashioned a stellar four goal assists, 34 shot assists and one goal throughout the campaign. Matching up against the oppositions younger lads, I expect those two do their club proud.
Latest results; Perth lost 4-1 vs Sydney @ Allianz Stadium and Adelaide lost 1-0 vs Western United @ Hindmarsh Stadium.
Latest H2Hs; Adelaide have won their last four on the bounce vs Perth, scoring two strikes on each occasion.
Betting tips: Look for the ‘Reds’ to triumph at $2.21 (BoomBet)
Also look for Hiroshi Ibusuki to feature on the scoresheet at any time at $2.20 (BoomBet)
Monday, April 24
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Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC7:00pm AEST, Suncorp Stadium |
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By the time this game rolls around the Roar will essentially know their finals fate and barring something drastic occurring they WILL NOT be featuring in it this season. As for the opposing ‘Sky Blues’ they on the other hand currently sit in 6th-spot on the ladder and have it all to play for still. Last round they demolished Perth 4-1 at home and I’m expecting a similar result to come out of this rivalry as well. Brisbane have just lacked any sort of ‘roar’ this season and Sydney as a result should thoroughly punish them because of it. I want to throw it back to 2019 where in front of 10,000+ spectators at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney put Brisbane to the sword winning 5-1. Three superb strikes from Adam Le Fondre were amongst many other awesome highlights from hosts, as they shot a great 8/12 on target. Meanwhile all the visitors could salvage that day was a converted spot kick 90+5-minutes in, despite they themselves going 6/15 on target. And that has the potential to occur here in 2023 given how poorly Brisbane have been going lately. So poor that the’ve been defeated in eight of their last 14 affairs. Sydney are about to seal a finals spot in dramatic fashion right here!
Latest results; Brisbane drew 2-2 vs Wellington @ Eden Park and Sydney beat Perth 4-1 @ Allianz Stadium.
Latest H2Hs; Brisbane have won two of their last three contests against Sydney via a 3-1 scoreline.
Betting tip: Back a Sydney win at $2.37 (BlueBet)
Best Bets of the Round – Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners
Back a Mariners dub at $2.10 (BlueBet)
Also back them to open the scoring at $1.66 (Bet365)