Five fixtures for a big A-League preview.
The best bets and tips from all of this weekend’s action begin on Saturday between Brisbane and Wellington followed by a big Derby between Western United and Melbourne City.
brisbane vs. wellington
march 12th 5:05pm
Brisbane Roar will attempt to paper over the cracks of a disastrous season so far when it plays Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
The Roar sit last on the table and even though they have a few games in hand, a three-game losing streak has done them no favours in the scheme of things.
Defensively the Roar look a shambles and coming up against this Phoenix squad, which looked slick in the front third of their 3-2 win over Newcastle, will have the alarm bells ringing.
Brisbane is the favourite for this game, but Phoenix is playing much better football.
Prediction: Brisbane 1 Wellington Phoenix 2
Suggested Bet: Wellington head to head at $3.40
western united vs. melbourne city
march 11th 5:05pm
A top-of-the-table Derby comes to life when Western United hosts Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Four wins in a row has Western United poised to wrestle top spot off City with both teams on equal on points but United having two games in hand.
John Aloisi has his men playing inspired football at the moment and they have been winning games they are expected to.
The black and green army already has two wins from two games against Melbourne City this season having defeated Patrick Kisnorbo’s 1-0 on both occasions.
City has finally started to hit its straps having gone undefeated in its last five games (W4, D1) and it is the favourite to win this contest.
Get the feeling this will be a draw between two genuine league-winning teams.
Prediction: Melbourne City 1 Western United 1
Suggested Bet: Draw head to head at $3.60
perth glory vs. sydney fc
march 12th 7:05pm
Perth is out to arrest a four-game winless run when it faces Sydney FC at NIB Stadium on Saturday night.
The Glory have had a tumultuous season with COVID continually interrupting their travels and taking them away from Perth for extended periods of time, while Daniel Sturridge has failed to live up to the hype.
Sydney has fared no better in recent fixtures either having lost its last three games as the pressure builds on coach Steve Corica.
The Sky Blues would have got a boost from their 5-0 Asian Champions League belting of Kaya FC back on Tuesday.
It is hard to tip either of these teams on current league form, but the Sky Blues have a few more credits in the bank than Perth.
Prediction: Perth Glory 2 Sydney FC 3
Suggested Bet: Sydney head to head at $2
macarthur vs. western sydney
march 12th 7:45pm
Macarthur FC finds itself in the middle clump of the table when it prepares for its clash against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Bulls have lost their last two fixtures and have dropped away from the top wrung of the league to sit in fifth spot, while the Wanderers continue to show signs of improvement under new coach Mark Rudan.
A 2-0 derby win over Sydney FC will have the Wanderers up and about for this clash, but the Bulls have the wood over the visitors this season.
It was a 2-0 result for the Bulls back on December 11 last year.
Rudan was not coach back then and his influence has been felt by this Wanderers squad.
Defensively, the Wanderers looks more sound than they were in the early parts of the season.
Another parity looks as though it will be incoming.
Prediction: Macarthur 1 Western Sydney 1
Suggested Bet: Draw head to head at $3.40
adelaide vs. newcastle
march 13th 7:15pm
Hindmarsh Stadium is where we situated ourselves for this A-League battle between Adelaide United and the Newcastle Jets.
United has spiked its way through the A-League table after a strong run of results in the last month and comes up against a Jets team which has remained winless in its last three fixtures.
The Jets were left with their heads in their hands after a late loss to Wellington on Sunday and it means they were resigned to ninth on the league table.
It is not going to get any easier against a Reds team which has unearthed Hiroshi Ibusuki as its lead talismen in the last few games.
Ibusuki has netted goals in the 2-1 win over Perth last Sunday and the 2-1 triumph against Central Coast back on February 26.
If Ibusuki keeps up that form, it has to be advantage Reds on their home deck.
Prediction: Adelaide United 3 Newcastle Jets 1
Suggested Bet: Adelaide head to head at $2.10
