The finals are in sight and while it’s not quite battle stations for most, results are beginning to prove vital to the continued campaigns of some clubs.
The in-form Roar will be in action first-up on Friday and can climb into the top four with a win over the Mariners and Sydney FC will host the Perth Glory in Week 23 of the A-League’s standout fixture.
The week is underway in Brisbane on Friday night when the in-form Roar look to continue their prolific campaign past the lowly Central Coast Mainers.
Since Christmas, it really has become a promising season for Robbie Fowler’s men, and they were simply outstanding in last week’s easy 3-1 win over the Wanderers. They are going from strength to strength and it is fair to say that they are now a top four prospect.
The end of the season simply cannot come quickly enough for the Mariners, whom it is impossible to make a case for again this week.
The match of the round will almost certainly materialise in Sydney on Saturday afternoon when the league-leading Sydney FC host Perth Glory. This is a replay of last season’s decider and realistically, could be a preview of this season’s decider.
Sydney atoned for a rare loss to the Wanderers by absolutely destroying the Melbourne Victory in last weekend’s Big Blue. A win this week would be another big step towards the premiers plate and it’s hard to make a case for that not happening.
The Glory have actually been a little bit shaky recently and they enter this match off the back of a loss to Melbourne City, in Perth. They’d need to improve tenfold to take anything any from the Sky Blues in their backyard.
Fresh off probably their biggest win of the season, Melbourne City return home on Saturday night to play an inconsistent Western Sydney Wanderers outfit.
Clearly, they’ve returned some terrific performances and result this season, but Melbourne City’s win over the Glory in Perth was tough and ultimately saw them consolidate second position in overall standings. The most a multi-pronged attack and I think that will prove the difference again this week.
The Wanderers’ short run of positive form came to an end at the hands of the Roar last weekend and it is tough to imagining them reversing the result in Melbourne.
There’s a little less than even money about City at publish and I am more than keen to take some of that.
The Wellington Phoenix return home on Sunday and are another club that are faced with a terrific opportunity to win in Week 23.
I couldn’t believe the $2.30 that we were offered for them against the Mariners last week and sure enough, they won 3-0. The Victory are a better opponent, but I really do rate this Phoenix side and they represent excellent value to win again at $2.
The Victory were delivered another loss in Week 22 and there is no doubt that this one would have hurt more than most, given that it came at the hands of the old enemy Sydney FC.
What an absolute snoozer to end the week. Obviously, there wouldn’t have been any way to tell when the schedule was confirmed, but the recent form of Adelaide going up against the season form of Newcastle means that there is virtually nothing in this one for the neutral supporter.
Adelaide were flogged by the out of form Western United last week, in Adelaide. That was their third loss in succession, and they are free falling out of finals contention.
The Jets well enter this match fresh from a week off and prior to that, a rare win over the Perth Glory. A repeat of that performance would see them winning this, but it really is hard to trust them.
I’m going to stay on the fence.