Split rounds are a double-edged sword. They save me plenty of time because I only have to write one preview, but they also mean that the action is spread out over a huge period of time and there’s less action on both weekends.
Week 21 of the A-League is a split round – three matches this weekend and two the following but thankfully, there’s still plenty to be found from a betting perspective.
Regardless of what anyone who might support either of these two sides says, there really isn’t much to the Sydney FC and Adelaide United rivalry. Would you call this the John Kosmina Derby? Who knows. What we do have is two pretty credible A-League sides, both who look well and truly on the path towards the finals. Sydney snuck past Wellington away in Campbelltown last week (what a joke) and with that, leapfrogged the Melbourne Victory into second. It was a goalless draw in Newcastle for the Reds, who will need to improve from that performance if they are any hope here.
A red card and a crappier than expected performance saw the Victory draw with City in last weekend’s Melbourne Derby and they’ll be eager to respond by taking bragging rights away from the Jets, yet again. More so because they were also taken over by old rivals Sydney and if there’s anything Melbournians hate, it’s being shown up by their often-better rivals to the north. The Jets have continued to plod away and while they aren’t a shadow of the side that probably should have won the whole thing last year, they still remain a shot of making the finals and from there, it really is anyone’s dance.
In what is actually a week of pretty weak matches, this is clearly the standout. City remain firmly entrenched in the finals picture and enter this one with an inflated sense of confidence after drawing with the Victory last weekend. Whether or not that is warranted remains to be seen, but that is why the season is as long as it is and why clubs play each other more than once. The Glory have clearly been the benchmark all season and as long as they don’t get stitched up in the final again, surely they’ll go all the way. Last week’s draw with the Wanderers was a rare blemish and I think they’ll respond here.
There’s plenty of value in betting across the board for this one which is great, because there is little value in the prospect of watching this Brisbane Roar outfit run out against this Western Sydney Wanderers outfit. The Roar did record a thrilling win last week, but I really don’t think much can be taken from wins over the last-placed Mariners and they do face a tougher task in the club that drew with the Glory last weekend. While pretty bad in their own right, the Wanderers probably need only turn up to Suncorp next Friday to take the chocolates.
Nearly a month after it starts, Round 21 of the A-League will conclude in Gosford on Saturday March 9th when the Mariners host the Phoenix. It would take a braver man than me to tip the Mariners in current form and their best chance of only the second win of the season went begging last week when they were comfortably beaten by the ninth-placed Roar. This is three points for Wellington.