A-League Qualifying Finals: Previews and Betting Tips

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

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Saturday, August 22

Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory 3rd vs 6th 5:00 PM AEST, Bankwest Stadium View a detailed form guide for Wellington v Perth

Last RD- Wellington ended their regular season in questionable circumstances, as they suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to the Jets. They gave up goals in the 45th, 76th and 79th minutes of the game, in what was most definitely not a good pre-finals hit-out. With 47% ownage of the ball, they shot just 3/15 on target! They did however complete a strong 84% of their passes, something that was good for 429/512. They won 57 duels and 11 aerial duels. Whilst they also made 24 tackles and gave away just 5 fouls and only 1 yellow. In comparison, Newcastle was at 14 and 3. This was the Nix’s 9th defeat of the season. And coming up against the Glory, they’ll hope to play better, like they did prior to that loss, when they drew 1-1 with Brisbane at Newcastle. In that match, Hooper scored a late equalizer in the 82nd minute. They also had 58% possession of the ball, + they shot 9/21 on target, with a shot coming of the woodwork. Now that was a performance!

For the Glory, they also suffered through agony, via their 9th defeat of the campaign. They went down to Western United 2 goals to 0 at Bankwest Stadium. They conceded a double to Berisha in the 27nd and 52nd minutes of the match. And despite having 54% possession of the ball, they shot just 2/10 on target! They also had 4 of their shots blocked, as they completed 87% of their passes. Good for a clip of 476/548. They had 8 corners to the oppositions 4. Whilst they also won 56 duels and 10 aerial duels. They made 14 tackles and gave up a high 16 fouls, + a yellow. The Glory are on a bad run at the moment. Prior to this defeat, they also went down 4-0 to the Victory in Kogarah. The Victory a team that were eliminated from finals contention and had nothing to play for but pride. They conceded goals in the 29th, 60th, 69th and 92nd minutes of the match. And Perth themselves went 0/4 on target, despite their 59% possession. They have to turn things around here, otherwise BANG, it’s game, set, match for them!

Past History- When these two teams last met, Wellington prevailed 2-1 at Bankwest Stadium. And prior to that, it was the Glory who were victorious, 4 goals to 2, at NIB Stadium. In the encounter played in Parramatta, it was a rather close game. Hooper struck 1st in the 32nd minute and 16 minutes after that, Davila had the Nix’s 2nd on the game. Then 14 minutes after that, Ingham scored one for the Glory. And that is how the margin stayed at only a goal. Wellington won, despite having just 39% possession of the ball (Perth were at 61%). Both sides however were pretty woeful shooting-wise. Wellington went 2/7 on target and Perth 4/9. The Nix completed 79% of their passes and Perth 87%. They were good for 344/438 and 598/684 respectively. Wellington won 55 duels to 53. Whilst Perth won 18 aerial duels to 16. And the Glory gave up a high 18 fouls to 10, + each side conceded a yellow each. In the affair prior to this, D’Agostino had a double (46th and 54th mins), while Mrcela (43rd min) and Fornaroli (90th min), also each had one. Whilst for the Nix, Hooper was the man, with goals in the 68th and 76th minutes of the game. And it was a game that got heated, when Payne received a 71st minute red card for a bad foul on D’Agostino. Will there be more bad and fiery blood this time around?

Key Player- Bruno Fornaroli. The former FFA Cup winner, who scored 48 goals during his time at City, is absolutely the key player here and this is why. Wellington will boast the likes of Davila and Ball in their attack. Two men who have collectively combined for 18 goals and 9 assists this campaign. As for Fornaroli, he’s a lone ranger in Perth’s attack, in regards to star-lads with those sorts of ooh la la numbers. He has 13 goals, +2 assists this campaign. And he’s missing his star-man in the form of Diego Castro, after he elected not to participate in this finals-series, due to the heavy COVID risk involved within it. And starting with Bruno in Perth’s last match was the two Popovic borthers, collectively between them this season, they’ve got 2 goals and 0 assists! With the exception of a bit of work from Kilkenny and Juande, the onus will heavily lie upon Fornaroli to get it done for the Glory in this elimination game. He will take a lot of shots and have to create a lot of opportunities for his recently very lackluster side. If the Glory somehow claim the shock, upset victory, then expect him to have had at least a goal + and to have had a heavy hand in it all. The Glory’s attack will literally ride or die on him in this one.

Betting Tips: 

Pick Perth to be victorious at $2.88 (Sportsbet)

Pick Perth to score the games opening goal at $2.20 (bet365)

When the match odds become available pick Fornaroli to score at any-time throughout the match.

 

Sunday, August 23

Brisbane Roar vs Western United FC 4th vs 5th 6:00 PM AEST, Bankwest Stadium View a detailed form guide for Brisbane v Western United

Last RD- Brisbane drew their 7th match of the season nine days ago, as they and Sydney battled to a hotly-contested 1-1 draw up in the Hunter Valley. Wenzel-Halls opened the scoring in just the 11th minute for his side. Then in the 40th minute, Luke Ivanovic scored one back for the Sky Blues. And ultimately, that is how the tense affair ended between the two teams. Young was a godsend for his side in-between the sticks. Whilst the Roar also had their fair-share of attack, shooting 4/14 on target, with 43% possession of the ball. They had 3 of their shots blocked and they also completed 78% of their attempted passes attempts. That was good for 345/445. They had only 3 corners to Sydney’s 6. And they also were victorious in 46 duels and 12 aerial duels. They made 16 tackles and gave up only 8 fouls throughout the match, + a yellow. Sydney leaked 15 in comparison. Prior to that, Brisbane also drew 1-1 with Wellington in Newcastle. Their goal came via Scott McDonald in the 61st minute of the match, as he continued his hot-streak with the Roar. They are more then capable of winning this affair, they just have to be able to put all the finishing pieces together in this one.

Western United suffered just their 11th defeat of the campaign, only mere hours ago, as they went down to City 3-1, at Jubilee Stadium. With Berisha and recently-crowned Alex Tobin Medal winner Diamanti only making late cameos of the pine, no Burgess and the likes, United put in a solid performance in front of a near-empty stadium. Their sole-goal came via Berisha in the 70th minute, as he claimed what was his 19th strike of the season. But they also leaked goals in the 12th, 57th and 86th minutes of the match. United also shot 3/7 on target, with 48% ownage of the ball during the game. And their passes were completed at a 78% accuracy rate. That being something that was good for 361/463. They had just 2 corners to City’s 9. While they also won 41 duels and 10 aerial duels. Then they made 16 tackles and gave up just 9 fouls and the 2 yellows. When Western were playing their best team prior to this, they showed everybody what was up, as they toppled Sydney 2-1 in Leichardt. They scored the opener through Berisha in the 21st minute and then the late, crazy winner via Lustica in the 90th minute. That game saw them shot 5/13 on target, with a shot of the woodwork. They’l be quietly confident of moving into the semi’s given how well they’ve played as of late.

Past History- When these two teams last met, it was Brisbane who prevailed 1-0 at Mars Stadium. The only goal of the game came from Muratovic in the 61st minute. And the Roar were impressive, with just 40% of the ball, they still managed to land 7 of their attempted 13 shots on target. United on the other hand weren’t so good. They went 0/5 on target and had a blocked shot. The victors completed 89% of their passes and the losers 83% of theirs. Those numbers were good for 373/452 and 617/695 respectively. W.U. won 56 duels to Brisbane’s 41. And they also won 11 aerial duels to their 7. That count was a bit lowish in this encounter. 25 Tackles were made by the home-team and 16 by the away-side. And Brisbane leaked 15 fouls and a yellow. For W.U., those numbers were 11 and 2 respectively. And in their clash prior to this one, it was W.U., comfortable 2-0 winners at Suncorp Stadium. Their goals came just 11 minutes in through Pain and in the 46th minute through Berisha, as he scored against his old-side at his former stomping ground. Amazingly, W.U. owned just 29% of the ball in this game! And still managed to go 3/6 on target. As for the Roar, they were at 71%, but shot a pathetic 1/20 on target! What will the affair look like this time around?

Key Player- Berisha, Burgess, McDonald, Young and Kurto all have legitimate claims and stakes to be the key players in this affair. But in this one, it will fall down to the man who was once not deemed marquee worthy by former FFA boss David Gallop, in the form of Diamanti. The man was recently crowned the Alex Tobin medal winner by Fox Sports and it was thoroughly justified. He was subbed on late in Western United’s most recent match and he automatically made United better with his elusive passing skills and silky runs with the ball. + He hustled a fair bit on the defensive side of things as well. From either side, he is the best of either squad. And how he leads United’s attack into battle, will go a long, long way to determining the result of this clash. This season from 24 games, the 37-year old has 7 goals and 7 assists. Whilst he also has an insane 60 shot assists and has made 761 accurate passes so far! How well he plays in this affair, will massively depend on how well United go overall.

Betting Tips:

Pick Western United to be victorious at $2.80 (bet365)

Pick the 2nd half to be the highest scoring half at $2.00 (bet365)

When the match odds become available:

Pick Berisha to find the back of the net at any-time throughout the game.

Best Bets of the Round

A- Pick there to be at least 4+ goals scored in Wellington’s and Perth’s match-up at $3.40 (bet365)

B- Pick there to be at least 4+ goals scored in Brisbane’s and Western-United’s match-up at $3.40 (bet365)

C- Pick Wellington to score last against Perth at $1.80 (bet365)

D- And also pick Brisbane to strike last against Western United at $1.83 (bet365)