The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 2 of the 2024/25 A-Leagues Mens season.
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Melbourne City vs Melbourne VictorySaturday October 26, 7:35pm |
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The last time we had the privilege of witnessing a Melbourne Derby it was the Victory who sent City packing in the opening round of the finals after two electric strikes and 46 combined shots, eight yellow and two red cards, 120+4 minutes of blood, sweat and tears and a 3-2 penalty shootout count. Prior to that the Victory also just edged out City 2-1 as they forged a scorching winner in the 86th minute of their affair courtesy of Damien Da Silva’s smart header from close-range. And so whilst the ‘original’ Melbourne team may have conquered their recent rivalry meetings, you simply cannot discount Aurelio Vidmar and a City team that have reached four of the last five Grand Finals. Alongside ex-City custodian Patrick Kisnorbo managing against his former employers, this particular Melbourne H2H has all the ingredients for an incredibly spicy affair!
The Victory last time out emerged from the Central Coast with a solid point, whilst City escaped Newcastle with a valiant win. Melbourne drew last seasons Grand Final rematch versus the Mariners at Industree Group Stadium in less than ideal conditions, in what was a 0-0 scoreline. They should’ve however done more as Bruno Fornaroli missed his spot kick on the stroke of halftime, whilst they also only shot 1/11 on target. Whilst a 60th minute red to Roderick Miranda made things decisively more difficult for the visitors. Meanwhile in much better playing conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium Marco Tilio registered his 22nd goal for the club in what was a fun 1-0 win against the Jets. Yet City too were a bit reckless and saw James Jeggo given his marching orders twenty-minutes from full-time. Undoubtedly both sides will be aiming to be more concise here.
Did you know that Melbourne City have incredibly impressively lost just one of their previous 13 home appearances. Whilst two of their last four home matches have seen them batter Perth and Western Sydney 8-0 and 7-0 respectively! H2Hs in which they shot 11/25 on target and 12/21 accuracy!
Did you know that Melbourne Victory are unbeaten in seven of their last nine away games. They have also won three of their last four by margins of 4-0, 4-0 and 4-1!
Nikos Vergos has scored three goals throughout the course of his last three away matches for the Victory. In Europe alone his accolades include just three short years ago having banged in two goals over the course of two playoff relegation legs to help Panetolikos keep their place in Greece’s top division of Football. He’s also repped Greece 41X in their youth teams. Now that Bruno Fornaroli is a year old Vergos will have a massive responsibility to help the club score goals, such is exactly what he was brought in to achieve. And when you look back in through the history books, Tim ‘Timmy’ Cahill opened his A-League account with a BANG, as he famously scored a worldly from just inside the halfway line against the Victory in the early stages of his prime and lone A-League campaign. Whilst on the other end of things during Archie Thompson’s first full season with Melbourne he scored a stunner in the 93rd minute to beat City 2-1. The Melbourne Derby is where legends are made and Vergos may well add to that this coming Saturday night.
Betting tips: Look for both teams to find the back of the net with 1+ goals each at $1.58 (Dabble, Betr, Unibet, BoomBet)
Also look for there to be 1+ goals in each half at $1.60 (Unibet)
And back Nikos Vergos to score anytime at $2.95 (Unibet)
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Western United vs Western Sydney WanderersSunday October 27, 4:00pm |
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Western United are undefeated in six of their last eight clashes at home. They’ve also triumphed in four of the six overall matchups in which they’ve hosted the Wanderers. And now for the first time ever the ‘Green & Black’ will be playing a full campaign at their very own stadium in Tarneit, Ironbark Fields. Having already previously coached Western united to championship glory, head coach and former Socceroo John Aloisi knows just how important home advantage is. This is potentially the season where they can seperate themselves from both the Victory and City on and off the field and it all starts right here. However you cannot rule out a hungry Western Sydney side who have won five of their last seven matches on the road. The most recent win of which was a thumping 4-0 scoreline over the Queensland Lions in the Australia Cup. With both teams also failing to pick up a victory in Round One this affair should prove to be both an incredibly tightly contested one, in addition to being a damn well thrilling one!
For the ‘Green & Black’ they left Wellington against the Phoenix with a point last round with a 1-1 draw. Whereas things were tougher goings for the Wanderers. Despite Juan Mata wowing the home crowd at CommBank Stadium they went down in the Sydney Derby to the ‘Sky Blues’ 2-1. Angus Thurgate celebrated his 20th career goal in style in the 76th minute as he drew Western United level with a powerful strike. Meanwhile for Western Sydney 20-year-old Forward Aidan Hammond displayed his potential with a fine goal of his own. And at the time it was a strike that drew the ‘Red & Black’ level. The Wanderers were however relentlessly attacked by their opponents as displayed by the two to six card count. Western United may not be so physical which presents a great opportunity for both sides to fire away plenty of chances in this encounter.
Did you know that in three of Western United’s last five home games they have scored three, four and two goals. Those came against Adelaide United, Macarthur FC and Melbourne Victory respectively.
Did you know that Western Sydney have scored 1+ goals in 11 consecutive appearances. Whilst prior to their back-to-back losses they put four past the Queensland Lions (as previously mentioned) and four past Auckland FC as well in a trial game.
I think the Wanderers will earn the win away from home here because Western United simply cannot matchup to their defence and defence is what wins games. One prime example of this is currently James Donachie resides for the ‘Green & Black’ at the back. Over the course of the last three A-League seasons he has been wildly inconsistent and has picked up 13 yellows and one red card in the process. His age aside (31), he simply cannot move like he used to and more often then not will make the wrong decision. Compare him to 27-year-old Tae-Wook Jeong who resides in a similar position on the pitch for Western Sydney. He hardly put a foot wrong in the Derby and looked very solid all game long. Whereas the Wanderers may well be able to crack open the hosts defence, I’m not sure if said hosts can do it the other way round or not.
Betting tips: Back a Wanderers victory at $2.33 (BetFair)
Also back there to be over 2.5 goals scored at $1.57 (Bet365)
And also look for both teams to score at $1.44 (Bet365)