The following are previews with betting tips for Round 12 (Midweek round) of the 2018/19 A-League season.
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Tuesday, January 8
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Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix7:50 PM AEDT, ANZ Stadium |
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Good, but not good enough
That’s a fair description of the Wanderers performance in their tight 2-1 loss to the Victory. They definitely improved on their shambolic 2-0 defeat to City, but they couldn’t quite get it done, making it two straight losses to two Melbourne teams within the space of two rounds. Baumjohann evened things up for the Red & Black, but a Melbourne strike four minutes from regulation time meant that they would steal the win at ANZ Stadium. A major difference between the two teams was their ability in front of goals. Whereas the Victory saw 3/8 shots go on target, Western Sydney were a pretty terrible 7/24. As it stands the Wanderers are currently 8th on nine competition points, seven points out of the finals!
The Phoenix continue to fly
In their 0-0 draw with Adelaide, their sixth straight unbeaten game, they saw Mandi see red in the 68th minute. And that decision most definitely did not help them in their cause to win the match. However they are still currently four points clear of the 7th placed Jets in 6th spot on the ladder. The Phoenix took four shots at goal, Adelaide on the other-hand took 32. In that sense the game was very lopsided. As was possession with Adelaide having 61% and Wellington 39%. For the Phoenix to claim a draw with all that going against them, plus the fact that the game was in Adelaide is a real testament to them. One negative from the game though was their passing which they completed at a pretty ordinary rate of 65% (187/286).
Betting tip: Western Sydney have lost three of their past four matches. That’s in comparison to Wellington who are un-beaten in their past six and have claimed massive scalps against sides such as Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
-Pick Wellington to win at $3.50 (Neds)
-Also pick both teams to find the back of the net at $1.60 (Neds, Betfair)
Wednesday, January 9
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Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory7:50 PM AEDT, Coopers Stadium |
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Hindmarsh a fortress no longer!
From seven home games this season Adelaide have won only one. And in their most recent game their, last round, Wellington stood tall defensively and as a result United were only able to claim a point in the 0-0 draw. They took 32 shots to the oppositions 4! Yet somehow Marco Kurz’s men couldn’t find a way to break through. And an early 2nd half opposition red should have helped their cause in this as well, but it just didn’t. And shooting problems weren’t the only ones for Adelaide in this match either as they gave away 18 fouls, good for four yellows. While they also had eight corners to the Phoenix’s two, but again they could make nothing of them. As a result of this match Adelaide are still in the Top Six, but they are being closely chased by Newcastle who are only four points behind them. Their need for a capable striker is obvious, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens during the January Transfer Window. Bobo perhaps? Or maybe somebody else? Who knows?
Ain’t no victory like a Melbourne Victory
Toivonen bagged one on the stroke of half-time and then again just before full-time to give the Victory a dramatic 2-1 win over the Red & Black in Sydney. To Toivonen’s credit they were his 6th and 7th goals of the season, good for equal 3rd in the A-League’s leading scorer charts. The Victory are only a win of 1st place and have the same GD +12 as the ladder-leaders Glory do. The Victory to their credit claimed the tight win despite just taking only eight shots all match, but they managed to put three of them on target. While they also managed to very strongly repel 24 Wanderers shots. Lawrence Thomas was a godsend for Melbourne and a big part of the action as he made five saves and the only goal he conceded was the penalty. Especially considering they had no Honda, this was a really impressive victory and they are without a doubt one of the teams to beat this campaign!
Betting tip: The Victory have been victorious in 6/9 past matches against Adelaide. While they have also won seven of their past nine matches this campaign. With or without Honda they are a very, very tough side to come up against indeed!
-Pick the Victory to win at $2.60 (Neds, PalmerBet)
-Also pick them to strike first and score at $2.00 (Neds)
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Perth Glory v Sydney FC10:00 PM AEDT, nib Stadium |
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Literally nothing can take down the Glory
Adam Taggart bagged two against his old club, not enough. Brisbane held a 2-0 lead in Brisbane, not enough. Perth were missing one of their key attacking players in Chris Ikonimdis to Asian Cup duty, still not enough to help the Roar win. Instead two converted Kilkenny penalty’s, an OG and a 7th strike of the season to a resurgent Andy Keogh saw Perth take the goodies 4-2 against Brisbane. Oh and Taggart missed a penalty at the end as well that would’ve given the former Perth man a rare hat-trick against his former side. As a result the Glory are now a win clear at the top of the table. However somewhat in defence of the opposition, all of Perth’s goals came after a Bowles red card in the 57th minute of the match. But never the less, four is impressive no matter who it’s against! Perth had 67% of the ball, took 20 shots, nine of which were on target, completed 86% of their passes and gave away only 11 fouls in comparison to Brisbane’s 19. It’s safe to say they dominated this high-scoring affair.
Five’s the magic number as Sydney humiliate the silly Mariners
It’s very possible Cisse has played his last game in a Mariners jersey after he saw red in the 26th minute of the game. He then proceeded to swear at Mariners trainer Nick Montgomery as he was walking furiously of the field. This thankfully for the Sky Blues changed their outlook of the game as previously the visitors had been up via a Connor Pain goal. Post that O’Neil would also get one for the visitors. However three goals for the first time ever in the A-League to Sydney captain Alex Brosque, another to Le Fondre who leads the A-League with 10 strikes and a first ever one to Aaron Calver saw them smash the hapless Mariners 5-2. That effort now sees them on equal points with the 2nd placed Victory and only a win of the Glory. Two of the most telling stats from the game is that Sydney conceded only eight fouls and they shot 13/23 on target. A simply marvelous effort from the Sky Blues!
Betting tip: Perth are the team to beat this season, there’s no doubt about it. However earlier in the campaign Sydney came away with a 2-1 win over them, their only loss of the season to date. Whilst the Sky Blues have also beaten them in their past 10 straight encounters! Will Perth break this run or will Sydney run supreme yet again?
-Pick the Sky Blues to be victorious at $2.55 (Neds)
-Also pick them to score last during the game at $2.00 (Neds)
Favourite/ Best Bet of the Round
This ones pretty easy and it’s Sydney to beat Perth at $2.55 (Neds). 10 games in a row is some serious skill and Perth have been no slouches in recent seasons either. Pick Sydney to make it 11 straight under the guidance of Steve Corica!