A-Leagues Mens Round 3 – Selected Previews & Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 3 of the 2024/25 A-Leagues Mens season.

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Melbourne Victory vs Macarthur FC Sunday November 03, 4:00pm AAMI Park

Who will win as the two 2024 Australia Cup finalists take to the field once again. Can the Victory extract revenge for their narrow one-goal defeat or will it be the ‘Bulls’ who ride high with a third straight win against Melbourne and lay claim to fame on a sixth consecutive away win?

For the Victory last round, they put Melbourne City to the sword in the local Derby smashing them to pieces 3-1 at AAMI Park. Nishan Velupillay bagged the opener in just the 5^th minute, then Niko Vergos stood tall with his first goal of the season in the 12^th minute. Then in the 25^th minute Ryan Teague made it three to the good with his own well-worked goal. And sandwiched in-between all of that the winners also had a strike disallowed by VAR in the 22^nd minute. Credit is due where credit is due as for recent Socceroo debutant Velupillay, that was his sixth goal for the Victory in seven games across all competitions this season.

Whilst for Macarthur they looked to be on track for win number seven in a row at Campbelltown Stadium as well-renowned Croatian Attacker Marin Jakolis conjured up his seventh goal of the season from six matches across all competitions for the ‘Bulls’ in the 19^th minute. However, they were undone by a magical double to young Jets defender Eli Adams as he turned Macarthur’s defence into wet paper in the 56^th and 60^thminutes. This eventually resulted in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts and unfortunately Valere Germain skewed his 90+1^st minute penalty attempt which would have evened the score.

The Victory have proven triumphant in six of their last eight home games at AAMI Park and as the reigning Grand Finalists from the last A-League season they’ve only seemingly gotten better under ex-City chief Patrick Kisnorbo. His no-nonsense style of play has worked wonders as besides the scintillating two-goal defeat of City, he also helped keep the other Grand Finalists from last season, the Mariners, to zero in the opening round and Grand Final rematch. Defensively he has made the Victory very tight at the back and difficult to break through. And over the course of their last seven games in all competitions they have only conceded two goals. 31-year-old stand-in Goalkeeper Jack Duncan continues to be a huge focal point for the side and is ageing like fine wine. If he can continue with his crushing run of form, combined with that of the Victory’s then they should be able to wrangle in the ‘Bulls’ rather easily. However, if not then expect Macarthur’s sharpshooter Marin Jakolis to be the one to help the visitors steal something away from this thrilling matchup.

Betting tips: Back both teams to score at $1.57 (Boombet)

Also back there to be 1+ goals in each half at $1.45 (Unibet)

And look for Nishan Velupillay to continue his rich vein of form and score anytime at $2.85 (Unibet)

 

Western United vs Melbourne City Monday November 04, 7:00pm AAMI Park

Monday night Football is back and bigger than ever as we get to witness an emphatic second Melbourne Derby in the space of two weeks between Western United and Melbourne City. Will the ‘Green & Black’ pick up their first three points of the season or can this new look City team collect a fifth victory from their last six appearances against their archrivals?

Last weekend at Ironbark Fields Western United recorded a record crowd of 4,207 spectators as they fought to a valiant 1-1 draw versus Western Sydney. Despite conceding the opening goal inside the games first 15-minutes, they hit back and hard with a well-crafted Hiroshi Ibusuki strike in the 48^th minute. That being his 31^st goal in all competitions across Australia. Undoubtedly there were lots of positives to take from this game for the hosts going forward as they shot 5/18 on target and really strangled the life out of the Wanderers in the second half.

Whilst for Melbourne City their performance at AAMI Park in the Melbourne Derby against the Victory was far from glamorous. They let in three goals in the opening 25-minutes, and it would’ve been four if VAR hadn’t intervened. This eventually culminated in a demoralising 3-1 defeat for the ‘hosts’. Andrew Nabbout did however source out the back of the net in the 61^st minute to restore some respectability back onto his sides famous badge. However, their lacklustre start ultimately left a lot to be desired and with lots of improvements still to be made.

Dammingly Melbourne City have won just two of their previous 11 away matches. Even considering their recent stellar history against the ‘Green & Black’, statistics such as those just mentioned are extremely difficult to overturn. The last time they met City edged out Western United 1-0 thanks to a strong finish from then star-Striker Jamie Maclaren. City now doesn’t have that sort of star power after Maclaren’s much scrutinised move to India and it remains to be seen who will step up in his absence. Macro Tilio could do a job of it having already found an eventual winner for City once this season. Whilst Andrew Nabbout is a seasoned pro, however the last time he fashioned eight + goals in a season was during the 2019/20 campaign when he was at the Victory. There are a bunch of what ifs for Melbourne, but not a lot of stand outs. A team effort should be enough to get them over the line against Western United, however if not then Western United’s own experienced attacking combination of Hiroshi Ibusuki and Angus Thurgate may well get the job done for them in what should be an incredibly closely contested Derby.

Betting tips: Pick a close City victory at $1.97 (Unibet)

Also look for them to forge the games opening strike at $1.61 (Bet365)

And for there to be over 3.5 goals at $2.50 (Bet365)