A-League Grand Final: Preview and Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for the Grand final of the 2019/20 A-League season.

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Sydney FC vs Melbourne City FC 1st vs 2nd 6:30 PM AEST, Bankwest Stadium

So here we are, after an incredibly long, entertaining, thrilling and disrupted campaign, this Sunday evening down in Parramatta, will decide who wins this years A-League Championship. Will Sydney FC go back-to-back under the guidance of club legend Steve Corica? An amazing side that suffered just 5 defeats all season long. Or will City do the unthinkable and claim what they’ve never won before? When they invested/ are currently investing money into the likes of Fornaroli, Cahill and now Maclaren, this was one of their major aims. They’re here now, but are they ready for the immense and intense pressure that comes with it? And with both sides coming of the back of comprehensive 2-0 Semi Final victories, we know that this is sure to be a cracking conclusion to this A-League campaign!

Last RD- Sydney displayed some pre-COVID vintage form, as they toppled Perth 2-0 at Bankwest Stadium, this Wednesday evening just past. Milos Ninkovic opened the scoring with a fine effort 24 minutes in, much to the delight of the predominantly Sky Blue crowd. Then just 4 minutes later, ‘Alfie’ Le Fondre chased down a back-pass to Perth GK and ex-Sydney man Liam Reddy and the pressure got to him, as Le Fondre was able to force the ball into the back of the net with his immense speed and pressure. And that is how the match ended. Although it should be said that the Glory absolutely fought for their lives in the 2nd half of the match. Sydney shot 4 on target, compared to Perth’s 1, with 52% ownage of the ball. They also completed a strong 81% of their passes, something which was good for 419/518. They had 8 corners to the Glory’s 5, while they also won 52 duels and 11 aerial duels. + They made 24 tackles and leaked 12 fouls, 2 of which were yellows. The opposition gave up 3 yellows during the match.

As for City, they claimed arguably the biggest win in the history of their club, as they booked a maiden GF berth. They toppled rivals Western United, also 2-0, in the earlier Semi Final played at Bankwest Stadium, on this past Wednesday late afternoon/ early evening. Maclaren scored yet another goal, as he converted a spot-kick in the 68th minute, after a foul from Calver. Whilst it was made official 6 minutes from time, when Imai put the ball into the back of his own net. Whilst early on in the match, City had a goal ruled of for off-side, but ultimately none of that mattered, as they were still strongly victorious, regardless of that. With 49% possession of the ball, they managed to shoot 3/10 on target. They also completed a good 79% of their passes. That being something that was good for 386/489. The corners were tied at 7 each, whilst City also won 55 duels and 19 aerial duels. They were forced into making 14 tackles, as they also gave up 12 fouls and 3 yellows.

Past History- Sydney have won 9 of their past 11 contested clashes against Melbourne as of late. However, City have won 2 of the past 3 games between the teams. On August 1 of this year, in Homebush, they won 2-0. Then two matches prior to that, they also won 2-0, this time at Leichardt Oval. Within the August 1st affair, it was Craig Noone who opened the scoring in the 57th min. Then just 11 minutes later, it was ‘Macca’ who doubled the goals-tally for City. Despite the possession being split at 50% each on that occasion, it was City who dominated, as they went 9/14 on target. In comparison, Sydney went just 2/7. And in the other affair previously mentioned, it was Harrison who scored first, 62 minutes in. Then just 17 minutes later ex-City, current-Sky Blue Retre scored an OG, to make the score-line what it was. Whilst the Sky Blues last win against Melbourne came on the 29th of December, of last year. In what was billed as a massive opportunity for City to try and steak down 1st place, they blew it, as the Sky Blues overturned a 1-0 goal deficit into a commanding 2-1 win, at Jubilee Stadium. Grant was out with a red in the 25th min, just 3 mins after Metcalfe had opened the scoring for City. But that didn’t matter to Sydney, as Le Fondre evened things up in the 29th minute. And Barbarouses scored the late winner in the 84th minute, much to the delight of the home fans. That was a gutsy win for Sydney that day.

Key Match-up- Redmayne vs Glover. One is a current Socceroo, whilst the other is an ex-Tottenham man. And despite their significant gaps in terms of both age and experience, they are two of the hottest GK’s going around in Australia at the moment. ‘Redders’ helped lead Sydney to 16 regular season victories this season. While Glover helped lead Melbourne to a close 14. Redmayne has an average of 3.15 saves per match this campaign. While hes kept an awesome 7 clean sheets so far. As for Glover, he’s averaged a close 3.07 saves per game, along with a solid 4 clean sheets. both GK’s are reliable and rarely stuff-up. And this is the key match-up due to both sides having a closely balanced attack/ defence each. The likes of Le Fondre/ Ninkovic or Maclaren/ Noone, or Grant, or Delbridge are capable of utter brilliance at any moment. So at the very back is where things will get really heated and will ultimately, play a huge part on the eventual outcome of the match. They’re both very classy indeed, so they should know what to do. For Redmayne, he is at this point after once upon a time, being a back-up GK at the struggling Wanderers. Whilst for Glover, he is here, after playing only 14 games this season. Very impressive stuff for both men!

What  Should Happen- Ultimately what this comes down to is who wants it more and the experience on both sides of the park. Sydney have it covered in both departments. They are aiming to etch their name into Australian Sporting History as one of the most successful sides ever, as they attempt to claim a record 5th A-League Championship. And you can just tell what going back-to-back would mean for a lot of the older heads such as ‘Wilko’, ‘Ninko’ and Barbarouses, among others. And whilst Melbourne have experience without a doubt, Sydney know what it takes to win. They beat the Victory 6-1 in last seasons Semi Final. And then after that, they beat Perth on penalties, in the GF. And they have largely the same squad, as to that of what they had last campaign. If City want to win, then Maclaren, a man who has 23 goals this season, will have to score at least 1+ and have a big impact on the game. Up front he can always pull a rabbit out of the hat for City. And how he helps to compose his side during the big/ crucial moments in the game, will go a long, long way to deciding the score. Sydney to ultimately win 3-2 in ET.

Pick Sydney to win the trophy at $1.72 (Unibet)

Also pick them to score the games last goal at $1.80 (Bet365)

Pick the 2nd half to be the highest scoring half at $2.05 (Bet365)

And also pick Le Fondre to score at any time $1.83 (Bet365)

BEST BETS

Pick Barbarouses to score any time at $3.00 (Bet365)

And also pick Noone to score any time at $3.00 also (Bet365)

May the best team win!!!

Bring it on!!!