The following are previews with betting tips for Round 7 of the 2019/20 A-League season.
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Friday, November 22
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Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne City7:30 PM AEDT, Bankwest Stadium |
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The Wanderers last game blew a 1-0 lead to Western United, to lose 2-1. They opened the scoring in the 5th minute through Duke, but later goals to Durante and then a winner to Appiah cosigned them to only their first defeat of the season. Despite having 49% of the ball, they shot just 2/6 on target. They did however, complete a respectable 78% of their passes, 322/412. City in their last game, despite scoring three, all via Jamie ‘Maca’ Maclaren, they lost 4-3 to Brisbane, after blowing a 3-1 lead and conceding two penalties. The possession was split evenly at 50% each. And City shot nine of their attempted 22 shots on target. Outside of that, they completed 82% of their passes, good for 391/478.
When these two sides last played each other, City came away with an easy 3-0 win in Melbourne. That day, Craig Noone scored twice (34th and 81st mins) and Maclaren once (44th minute). This match was the game that knocked out the Wanderers in this seasons edition of the FFA Cup. Despite only having 48% of the ball, City shot a more then respectable 6/12 on target. As for the away-side and the losers, they owned 52% of the ball. But shot a simply crap 2/12 on target. It was also a very ‘friendly’ game, as both sides were fairly well-disciplined. Only two yellow cards were handed out the entire match. Melbourne leaked just 10 fouls and Western Sydney five.
*City have won four of the past six matches played between these two sides.
Craig Noone will be the key player in this encounter. The former Cardiff and Bolton man has scored just the solitary goal for City this season. Whereas in comparison in the FFA Cup he was banging them in. Vs Campbelltown he scored one. Vs Marconi he scored one. Vs the Wanderers he scored two. So evidently he doesn’t mind when he faces up against the Red & Black. And if just one other City player had scored last weekend, they wouldn’t have suffered the embarrassment that they did in losing to Brisbane. Outside of Maclaren, he is one of City’s key attackers. Even if he can’t score, it’s crucial that he plays well here as City attempts to bounce back from last rounds shock loss.
Betting tip: Pick Western Sydney to win at $2.80 (Unibet)
Also pick them to score first at $2.05 (Beteasy, Bet365)
Saturday, November 23
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Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar5:00 PM AEDT, Westpac Stadium |
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Wellington’s last match was a surprise 1-1 draw with the Victory in Melbourne. Wellington weren’t expected to do much headed into the game, but they proved most of their critics wrong with the resilient performance. Davila, the former Blues EPL player opened the scoring for the Nix with a 5th minute converted spot-kick. And the Nix got the result despite having just 33% of the ball throughout the match. They did however manage to shoot 4/11 on target. Passing-wise they were just ehhh at 74%, good for only 238/320. This was their first points of the season and despite that being the case, they are under two wins currently of a Top Six/finals spot. Hope is still well and truly alive for the Nix this campaign. For Brisbane, Roy O’Donovan scored three, including two penalties, in his sides upset, come-from-behind 4-3 victory against Brisbane. They won despite being down 3-1 at one point and there other goal-scorer was Amadi-Holloway who got one in the 60th minute of the match. Brisbane shot 6/11 on target and had 50% possession in one of the A-League’s more crazier, frantic matches to date.
The last time these two teams met one another, the Roar came away with a tight 2-1 win up in Brisbane. Bautheac scored a double (37th, 42nd mins) to keep the Nix at bay. But a 53rd min Steven Taylor goal made for the close finish. And right at the very end of the match, Bautheac saw red for a bad foul, which resulted in his second yellow, which resulted in him being given his marching orders. Both sides fired away at will in this game. Brisbane shot 8/21 on target. And Wellington shot 5/16 on target and also had two shots come of the woodwork. The Roar did well to win with 38% possession and the Nix had 62%. Could we see another free-for-all-attacking effort this game on behalf of both sides?
*Four of the past six matches played between these two sides have interestingly resulted in draws. The other two have been a Brisbane win and a Nix win.
In their 1-1 draw vs Victory, up front with Davila was Ball. He had zero goals and zero shot assists vs Melbourne. He also completed just 50% (7) of his passes, he won only 2/5 aerial duels and gave away two fouls including one yellow. Being 29 years of age, this was a shocking performance on his part. And hell, even a youngster would be ashamed if they tossed this sort of game up. Imagine if he had actually helped Davila instead of making life more difficult for him? The Nix may have actually left Melbourne with all three points instead of just the one. A better, more-improved performance from him in this one could actually help see his Nix legitimately challenge and make life more difficult for Brisbane in this affair.
Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to win at $2.70 (Unibet)
Also pick both teams to score at $1.50 (Bet365)
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Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory7:30 PM AEDT, Coopers Stadium |
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Halloran (26th min), Mileusnic (38th min) and Opseth (45th min) were all on target in the Reds 3-1 demolition job of the Central Coast last round. Opseth also missed a spot-kick attempt in the 59th minute of the match, but that didn’t matter as the game was well and truly won by then. Adelaide owned 51% of the ball throughout the game and shot 12/26 on target. 12/26! What an incredible effort from the away team! However, the Reds did only complete 74% of their passes, 311/420. They are now flying high in 5th place and are only one win of 2nd position on the ladder. As for the Victory, one of their former players in the form of Kostas Barbarouses came back to haunt them as he scored the games 68th minute winner. Melbourne lost Barbarouses at the end of last season and making the 2-1 defeat in the Big Blue even more disappointing, was the fact that on the stroke of half-time Toivonen had scored his 4th goal of the season to give the Victory a slender 1-0 advantage. The Victory had just 39% possession and shot 1/4 on target. As it currently stands they are no where near a finals spot (realistically) and things need to be fixed ASAP for them.
When these two sides last played each other, George Blackwood came up big as he scored the 81st minute winner for Adelaide. Ironically, that was Adelaide’s only on target shot of the game as they went just 1/9. Although to be far to the Reds, the Victory were an even worse 0/8. With players such as Goodwin, Mileusnic, Barbarouses and Toivonen featuring in this one, it’s simply crazy how throughout the entire match, there was only one shot on target. Adelaide had 46% possession and Melbourne 54%. The Reds completed 74% of their passes and Melbourne were at 80%.
*Adelaide have won the past two games played between these two sides, they were by 1-0 and 2-0 scorelines respectively.
James Troisi is the key player here as he comes up against his old side Victory for the first time. This will be the first time he’s played for/ or against them since last seasons shell-shocking 6-1 defeat in the finals to Sydney FC. And just like Barbarouses did last round, he’ll be determined to put on a bit of a show against his old side, especially with the match being played in his native Adelaide. In total, he scored 27 goals for Melbourne and was a key player for them throughout his two stints there. Players always look to impress against their former employers and you can expect Troisi to be no different in this one.
Betting tip: Pick Adelaide to win at $2.00 (Sportsbet)
Also pick the 2nd half to be the higher scoring one at $2.05 (Beteasy)
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Perth Glory v Sydney FC9:45 PM AEDT, HBF Park |
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Diego Castro most recently scored the 86th minute equalizer for the Glory in their 1-1 draw against the Jets up in Newcastle. And it was very lucky for his Perth side that he scored when he did, as literally just around a minute later Grant was given a red card for a bad foul, which was his second yellow, and obviously as a result he was sent from the field. Perth had 64% possession this game and they shot a semi-alright 4/12 on target. They also unluckily had two shots hit the woodwork. Outside of that they also completed a very solid 84% of their passes, good for 555/658. And in Sydney’s 2-1 victory against the Victory last round, Barbarouses was the hero as he netted the 68th minute winner against his ex-side. Le Fondre had previously evened things up with a sausage roll (what he refers to cheekily as goals), in the 61st minute, only seven minutes earlier. Making the moment even greater for Kostas the man was the fact that he silenced all of the social media haters and that earlier on in the week, he rejected a chance to feature for NZ, so that he could instead play for Sydney.
The last time these two teams played each other. Sydney won a dramatic Grand Final beating Perth on penalties 5-1 at the newly built Optus Stadium. After probably wrongly having a Le Fondre goal ruled out during regular time and with neither side being able to score in ET, the match went to penalties. Le Fondre scored first, then Lopez converted one too. O’Neil scored next, while Keogh missed. Grant then converted his and Santalab missed. Up then stepped under-fire Sydney man Ghoochannejhad and he left his mark on Sydney’s decorated history by scoring the match winning penalty, much to the obvious happiness of the away fans.
*Sydney have dominated the Glory in their recently played games against each other, winning 12 of the past 13 games in which they’ve faced off.
Le Fondre will be the key player in what should similarly to last seasons GF, be a closely contested game. He should have had one normal goal in that game, while he was the first player to convert a penalty from either side. He had a total of 18 A-League goals last season, along with lots more in the FFA Cup. The Englishman is now already a cult hero for the Sky Blues and has four to his name this season. He is Sydney’s most consistent attacker and goal-scorer. I say this with utter confidence now, one or two goals to him will see Sydney win this game, you can bet on it!
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to win at $2.90 (Bet365)
Pick them to also score first at $2.10 (Beteasy, Bet365)
Sunday, November 24
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Central Coast Mariners v Western United6:00 PM AEDT, Central Coast Stadium |
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The Mariners were whipped last game, 3-1 by Adelaide. Duric scored his 3rd goal of the new campaign as he blasted his spot-kick into the back of the net in just the 6th minute. But 26th, 38th and 45th minute goals to Adelaide saw them end up winning the game quite comfortably. The Mariners had 49% possession of the ball throughout the game, and they shot a nice 6/11 on target. And with perhaps, perhaps, a bit of luck, could’ve stolen of a point of Adelaide, or even two if you consider the fact that the Reds wouldn’t have gotten all three points for the win. The Mariners completed just a paltry 72% of their passes, 280/388. As for Western United, their 1-0 loss to the Jets was one that wasn’t expected by many people at all, myself included. A 36th minute Thurgate goal is all that separated the two sides as despite having 64% of the ball, they shot a CRAP 3/19 on target. They did however hit the woodwork once and they completed a nice 83% of their passes, 475/575.
These two sides have yet to play each other, which should hopefully make for an exciting first up A-League affair. Although I wouldn’t be counting on it to much, as Western United’s defeat to Newcastle was just their 2nd of the season and they should bounce back in style against the struggling Mariners. Western United are currently 4th and they have three wins from six matches played. In comparison, the Mariners are just 10th on the ladder, only one place ahead of 11th/last. They have one win from five games played and an A-League equal worst GD of -4. If Western United play to their full potential, then expect this one to end up in a thrashing to the A-League’s newest kids on the block.
*The Mariners highlight of this season has been a 2-1 win over Perth. For Western United it is a 3-2 win over the Victory.
Duric, Duric, Duirc!!! He has to play oh so well for the Mariners to even have a chance at a draw, little lone a victory in this encounter. He has three goals for this season and while others have played well in different games throughout the campaign. I think it’s pretty safe to say he has been their only consistent attacker so far. He has three goals and looks to be an awesome signing. The Mariners have just six goals this season, meaning he’s produced 50% of their goals alone! He also has five shot assists and has won 6/8 tackles. If he plays well, then perhaps the Central Coast could get something out of this one, perhaps.
Betting tip: Pick Western United to win at $2.25 (Sportsbet)
Also pick them to score three goals first at $4.25 (Beteasy)
Best Bet of the Round
Pick Western United to win at $2.25 (Sportsbet)
Also pick them to score three goals first at $4.25 (Beteasy)