The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 17 of the 2024/25 A-Leagues Mens season.
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Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney WanderersFriday January 31, 7:35pm |
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We have a Friday night classic headed our way as historical rivals Brisbane Roar prepare to face the wrath of the Western Sydney Wanderers at Suncorp Stadium. It’s an affair that goes back to when the ‘Red & Black’ were first introduced to the A-League, however it really ignited during the 2016 semi-final at Pirtek Stadium. Down 3-0, the hosts eventually went up 4-3 thanks to a hat trick from the very special Dutchman Romeo Castelen. Then in the 81st minute a well-placed Jamie Maclaren strike evened the score, that before Dario Vidosic scored in the 102nd minute to again put Western Sydney up and the rest was history as they prevailed 5-4 to advance through to the Grand Final. Just a year later the Roar toppled their opponents 2-1 after Brett Holman forged a crazily exciting 93rd minute winner in front of over 13,000 spectators at home. Whilst nobody can forget Ruben Zadkovich’s infamous time wasting tactics from earlier this season which earned the Roar a hard-earned point. As the current Brisbane manager appeared to point to his Goalkeeper to feign an injury. Suffice to say when these two teams clash there’s never a dull moment between them and we should expect more of the same just before the weekend rolls around.
Despite Western Sydney having a fairly up and down season so far they’ve largely been able to rely on Australia U23 International Nicolas Milanovic – six goals + four assists and 11X capped Socceroo Brandon Borrello – five goals + five assists as a reliable, consistent source of attack. The speed of Milanovic and the killer instincts of Borrello should have the Roar worried here. Especially considering that Borello who once upon a time played just under 90 games for Brisbane, is always keen to put in a good performance versus his ex-employers. Just as an example the last time he faced off against the opposition he had a double inside the games opening 22-minutes. How Brisbane manage to keep the 23-year-old and 29-year-old respectively restrained will go a long way towards deciding the outcome of this no doubt thrilling affair. And with Thomas Waddingham recently departed to Portsmouth in England, the Roar will have to lean heavily on the likes of Jay O’Shea, 26 goals + 28 goals across 143 games for the club and ex-Seoul Midfielder Ben Halloran, two goals + two assists this season. Attack will be the theme of the matchup and is just one of the many things to love what we’re about to encounter.
Betting tips: With the goals set to rain down back both sides to score at $1.43 (BoomBet)
On that note also pick both H1 and H2 to witness goals at $1.40 (bet365)
And also pick the Wanderers to score the games last goal at $1.85 (Dabble)
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Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle JetsSaturday February 01, 7:35pm |
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At the time of writing the Mariners are just two wins off 3rd spot, whilst the Jets aren’t too far behind them. And given the closeness of the A-League so far this season Finals Football is a real possibility for them both, which makes this 2025 edition of the F3 Derby all the more spicier. The hosts are unbeaten in four of their last five matches, including a last start 0-0 clean sheet in Wellington against the Phoenix, where they kept them to just 3/10 on target. Whilst for Newcastle they too have seemingly improved as of late. They suffered back-to-back 3-1 defeats before most recently drawing 2-2 with the Glory in Perth last round. It was an inspired performance which witnessed Eli Adam’s third goal of the season + Ben Gibson’s fourth assist of the campaign, as well as Clayton Taylor’s 24th professional goal of his young and promising career. And so both teams will rightfully head into this game thinking they can take it out. However history is working against Newcastle here given that they’ve won none of their last six straight against the Central Coast. As a result can Rob Stanton’s Men rewrite history, or do Mark Jackson’s side have this covered from the get-go. Regardless bring on Saturday night.
The last time Newcastle triumphed in the F3 Derby was in early December 2022 when a 12th minute strike to Trent Buhagiar and a thumping header from close range via Beta Mikeltadze in the second half saw the visitors edge out the hosts at Industree Group Stadium (back then known as Bluetongue Stadium). The pace of Buhagiar and prowess of Mikeltadze is something that the Hunter Valley club have been missing for a while from their attack, but are slowly starting to rediscover. 22-Year-old Midfielder Eli Adams isn’t quite as pacey as Trent once was, but he’s still been flash enough to lock down three goals and one assist this campaign from only 11 appearances. Whilst also 22-year-old Ben Gibson definitely is showing signs of a future Beka in the making, one campaign after securing an impressive haul of 19 goals for APIA Leichhardt. With the Forward having banged in four goals this season, alongside having assisted on a further four strikes from just 13 games played. The young and tantalisingly exciting combination are certainly in it for the long haul at Newcastle and may be just what is needed to break the hump on the camel’s back as they attempt to disrupt the back-to-back champions.
Betting tips: Back the Jets to ‘fire’ with an upset victory at $3.75 (BetR)
Also back the visitors to open the scoring at $2.50 (bet365)
And pick both H1, as well as H2 to witness goals at $1.61 (bet365)