Three weeks down and the A-League ladder is beginning to take shape.
The Round 4 action begins in Sydney on Friday night and even after their Derby loss, Sydney FC will start their match with Newcastle as the clear favourites.
Elsewhere, Western United will contest their second Derby in as many weeks when they meet the Victory for the first time, and Perth will attempt to make it two in a row at the expense of the Central Coast Mariners.
Round 4 is underway in Sydney on Friday night and the Sky Blues will be eager to fight back into the winner’s stall at the expense of the Newcastle Jets.
Previously undefeated in season 2019/20, Sydney FC entered the Sydney Derby as firm favourites but were ultimately delivered a defeat by their fierce rivals. They were unable to get on the board in a match where more than competition points were on the line.
The Jets have only had two matches so far this season but remain winless and probably face the toughest task of their campaign in the form of Sydney. They’ll need to improve noticeably off what they’ve done so far, and I don’t think that they will.
Western Sydney are back in action on Saturday afternoon and the Brisbane Roar are the next opponent charged with stemming their run of form.
The Wanderers could not have hoped for a better start to the season, and they are the only club to have taken all three points from each of their three matches. Mitch Duke has been leading the way from the front and it was his 19th-minute goal that ultimately proved the difference in last week’s Sydney Derby.
The Roar have recorded one draw, had a week off, and one loss. They are clearly yet to adapt to a new style and combinations are yet to gel, but this was always going to be the case and they will surely improve from this hit-out as well.
At Wanderland and off the back of what they’ve done so far, it’s hard imagining them dropping all of the points to Brisbane Roar.
Another Melbourne Derby will be played out this week and this time, we’ll see the league’s most established club go up against the newest.
The Victory have not enjoyed their best start to a season on record, but they’ll surely be buoyed by their first win of the season; a scrappy fixture that ultimately saw them sneak away from the Brisbane Roar with all three points.
Western United got their first taste of a Derby opposite City just last week, and they’ll be eager to atone for what was their first competitive loss. It wasn’t all together an awful performance, and I think they are a real shot against a Victory side that is yet to impress.
Betting suggests that the most one-sided match of the round will materialise in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon and I am more than happy to agree with the market.
Melbourne City have returned to action in excellent form this time and the acquisition of Jamie Maclaren genuinely looks as though it could be the difference in winning a championship. The twenty-six-year-old is in career-best form and was simply outstanding against Western United last week, netting both of his side’s goals.
The Phoenix meanwhile have struggled to get off the ground and are anchored to the bottom of the ladder following three-consecutive losses. They’ve only lost by one goal on all three occasions, but two matches were played at home and they face another step up in class on Sunday.
The action will conclude in the nation’s west on Sunday evening and the Perth Glory are clear favourite to deliver the Central Coast Mariners another defeat.
Perth have taken a few matches to hit their stride, but they recorded their first win of the campaign in Wellington last weekend and are offered a terrific opportunity to make it two in a row.
The Mariners enter this match off the back of a bye, and I actually think that there has been a lot to like about what they have done so far. They are a club on the rebuild, so a luckless first-up loss and a draw is probably better than what they could have expected.
Regardless, the Glory deserve their clear favouritism and if they are serious about going one better in 2019/20, they’ll be winning matches like this one easily.