Week 3 of the Hyundai A-League season will kick off on Friday night, with Sydney FC and Melbourne City looking to continue their perfect start to the year whilst 5 other sides will be looking to record their first victory of the 2016/17 season.
It has been an incredibly open start to the new season with 33 goals scored across the first two weeks of the competition, with Sydney FC doing most of the damage as they have recorded the best start to an A-League season in 10 years. They have dominated both games with 4-0 wins over the Wanderers and Mariners, whilst also keeping two clean sheets to open their campaign for the first time in their history.
Also with two wins to their name are Melbourne City who will be looking to continue their undefeated run after victories over Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix have put them second on the ladder. They come up against fourth placed Perth Glory, who are coming off a strong 2 nil win over Wellington Phoenix, and will be looking to make it back to back victories against a Melbourne side who won 4-1 last weekend.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
(AAMI Park)
Friday 21 October 7.50pm AEDT
After putting in a world class display against Melbourne Victory last weekend, City will be searching for their third win of the season as they come up against an in-form Perth Glory outfit who put in a classy performance against competition cellar dwellers Wellington Phoenix. Despite conceding three goals in their opening game of the season, Glory managed to keep tight with their defence and kept Mariners scoreless throughout the 90. They will have to be even stronger this weekend as they come up against a team who put 4 past their opposition last Friday night.
Tim Cahill well and truly stamped his presence in his first game for City when he scored off a stunning half volley from 40 yards in front of a rapturous crowd of 40,000 last weekend. He was heavily involved throughout the contest and earned the approval of thousands of fans in his first ever A-League appearance. If can he helps City to their third straight win, it will continue their recent undefeated run against Perth Glory; having won 5 out of their past 7 clashes whilst drawing the other two fixtures.
Despite a strong performance last week, I think Glory will suffer their first loss of the season against a City outfit that look prepared for another season as competition heavyweights.
Tip: City 2 Glory 0
Best bet: Tim Cahill anytime goal scorer ($2.40)
Did you know? Perth Glory has only lost two of their last 13 Hyundai A-League matches against sides from Victoria
Central Coast Mariners vs Brisbane Roar
(Central Coast Stadium)
Saturday 22 October 5.35 pm AEDT
Two teams struggling for form, Mariners and Roar will be looking for their first wins of the season after struggling to record a victory in the opening two rounds of the competition. They are both coming off 4-0 thumpings and will be looking to turn it around after two less than impressive performances to start their campaigns. Mariners biggest worry this season has undoubtedly been their defence, conceding 7 goals in their first two games including 4 last week against ladder leaders Sydney FC. Despite their defensive lapses, they have managed to maintain the highest share of possession of any team this year, maintaining 62.9% of the ball so far.
Their opposition in Brisbane Roar are sitting second last on the competition ladder and boast the worst attacking record of the league; scoring just 1 goal in their opening match of the season whilst remaining scoreless against Newcastle. Despite their lacklustre start, they have won their last five matches against the Mariners; a team that have not won a game in their past 12 Hyundai A-League fixtures.
Both teams have a lot of pride to play for after their poor performances last weekend, and despite both teams having the worst defensive records of the season so far. Brisbane have been far more convincing in recent weeks and should record their first win of the year this Saturday.
Tip: Mariners 2 Roar 3
Best bet: Brisbane Roar -1.0 ($3.00)
Did you know? Roar come into this game having lost successive matches against sides from New South Wales in the Hyundai A-League; conceding nine goals across those games.
Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory
(Coopers Stadium)
Saturday 22 October 7.50pm AEDT
Adelaide United have found themselves in unfamiliar territory after the first two rounds, winless in both fixtures including a loss to last year's Grand Finalists and a draw in their first game against Newcastle. To add salt into the wounds of Adelaide, striker Sergio Cirio will be out of action for an extended period of time after suffering medial ligament damage to his right knee in their loss to Wanderers on Friday night. Despite the huge loss, history leans towards the home side with Victory failing to record a win in Adelaide since September 2009; having not won in 8 games since.
Melbourne Victory will be hurting after their loss to arch rivals City last weekend, and considering they only managed a draw against Brisbane Roar two weeks ago, they will be desperate to grab three points this weekend and get their season back on track. One of the most significant statistics that may worry some Melbourne supporters is their limited opportunities created over the past two fixtures - having only 14 shots on goal across both games which is the least of any team in the competition. Their desperate need for goals may rely heavily on star striker Besart Berisha, but the Albanian International is in somewhat of a goal scoring drought against Adelaide; he's scored just one goal in his last six appearances against Adelaide, despite managing five goals in the three games prior.
With both teams winless so far in the competition, it will be interesting to see how they both respond after coming off losses. We could be in for a cracker of a game, but it's difficult to separate the two after their performances so far, and will take something special for either team to get the three points.
Tip: Adelaide 1 Victory 1
Best bet: Draw ($3.40)
Did you know? The Reds are currently unbeaten in seven Hyundai A-League games played on a Saturday
Wellington Phoenix vs Sydney FC
(Westpac Stadium)
Sunday 23 October 5.00pm AEDT
A game where two teams are at the opposite side of the spectrum - competition leaders Sydney FC take on bottom placed Wellington Pheonix in their first game of the season away from home. Travelling across the ditch for this encounter, Sydney will be looking to further stake their claims as competition heavyweights after pulling of two 4-0 victories to open their campaign. Filip Holosko leads the competition with three goals to his name, including a brace last weekend against Mariners and has incredibly scored from all of his shots on target this year.
It's not fair to write off a team after two weeks of the competition, but coach Ernie Merrick has encouraged his team to put in a strong showing against Sydney this weekend to reassure fans their team is different from the one that finished last season in second last place. Despite the struggle of the international window in week one and the travel to Perth last week, excuses are all but gone when they take on a team who are well in form and scoring plenty of goals while doing so. They're still searching for their first goal this year, and can take confidence in knowing they are unbeaten in three A-League fixtures against Sydney FC.
After their first two performances have exceeded expectations dramatically, Sydney will be in for another strong showing against a struggling Phoenix side who are coming off back-back losses. Sydney to extend their winning streak to three, but Wellington to bag their first goal for the year.
Tip: Sydney 3 Pheonix 1
Best bet: Sydney FC to score in both halves ($2.60)
Did you know? The Sky Blues have registered the lowest possession share of any side this Hyundai A-League campaign (41%),
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Newcastle
(Spotless Stadium)
Sunday 23 October 7.00pm AEDT
What a performance we saw from Newcastle last week; a 4-0 thumping of Brisbane Roar to give fans something to hope for after six seasons without making the finals. They put in a consistent, yet rare 90 minute performance led by winger Andrew Nabbout who leads the competition with two assists, whilst only conceding one goal so far this year. They are undefeated in their last three A-League fixtures, scoring four goals in two of those games whilst also recording their first clean sheet since round 22 last year.
Coming off a last-gasp win against the defending premiers last Friday night, the Wanderers will be looking to continue their good form against Newcastle after they have won their past three fixtures against them. Brendan Santalab will take a lot of confidence out of his last outing, scoring two goals which included an injury time winner that broke the hearts of Adelaide fans after a hard fought performance. He has scored the most goals from the bench of any player since the start of last season (7), and will be looking to continue his good form against a team that put 4 away last weekend.
Wanderers showed a lot of character to turn things around after a crushing loss to Sydney the week before, and come up against a Newcastle team who slotted 4 goals last weekend. Fans should be in for another quality game of football with plenty of goals. Wanderers to go back to back.
Tip: Wanderers 4 Newcastle 2
Best bet: Home team goals over 1.5 ($1.65)
Did you know? The Jets have scored two goals from outside the penalty area this Hyundai A-League season; no other side has recorded more than one.
Blue Bet words: Andre Cupido
