The A-League continues for another week with more thrills, spills and upsets than you can poke a stick at.
It’s derbies galore as Matchweek 6 serves up seven matches over six days.
We kick off this Friday night with the non-Sydney CBD derby with the Western Sydney hosting Newcastle.
Saturday sees a triple-header starting with what they dub as the “Battle of the Bridge” with Western United “hosting” Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park, followed by the ALDI-brand Sydney Derby between Macarthur and Sydney FC and finishing with the travel-bubble derby as Brisbane Roar takes on Adelaide United at Redcliffe.
On Sunday, we’ll be treated to a double-header as it’s Sauce Bottles v Cake Tin as the top-of-the-table Central Coast Mariners hosts cellar-dwellers Wellington Phoenix in Gosford followed by Melbourne City taking on Perth Glory in the third and final leg of their Victorian tour.
We’ll have two days rest before Matchweek six wraps up on Wednesday night with Central Coast and Melbourne City backing it up to complete the round.
Finding a winner so far this A-League season is hard work, but we’re confident you can in our tips and preview.
It’s set to be a fascinating encounter this Friday night at Bankwest Stadium with the Wanderers playing host to the Newcastle Jets.
A solid rivalry is developing between the two sides and when they met back in Matchweek 3, the former Jets manager who’s now in charge of Western Sydney Carl Robinson took the full three points in what was a very entertaining contest.
Western Sydney will have plenty of fresh legs going into this game, having not played since Matchweek 4 and there most recent win being against the Central Coast Mariners.
Newcastle will also take plenty of confidence heading into this game, coming off a 2-1 win over the Wellington Phoenix – their first points of the season.
The fresh legs, playing at home and the chance to build on a three-game unbeaten run should give the Wanderers plenty of incentives to get the job done in this clash.
They are dubbing this the “battle of the bridge”, however, it’s a Western United “home” game against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park meaning in the context of the Westgate Bridge, only Western United would have to cross it.
Melbourne geography aside, this should be a cracking contest.
Both teams will head into this game having notched up their respective first wins of their A-League seasons and the incentive of making it two-in-a-row and to climb up the ladder along with being a derby will give both teams plenty to play for.
Victory and Western United both defeated Perth Glory in Match week 5 and both games were highly entertaining contests.
Western United won a memorable shoot-out 5-4 at Geelong over Glory and former Perth player Jake Brimmer scored two goals late in the game to give Victory a 2-1 win on Australia Day.
So far in the history of “The Battle of the Bridge”, Western United have won all three encounters so it would mean a lot for new Victory manager Grant Brebner to make sure it’s not all one-way traffic in this local derby.
I don’t rule out both sides splitting the points and the draw is great value at the current price.
It’s the historic first edition of the alternative, ALDI brand like Sydney Derby with Sydney FC travelling to Campbelltown to take on the new kids on the block Macarthur FC.
Sydney FC will be keen to respond after a 0-2 loss to the league leaders Central Coast Mariners last Friday night.
The Sky Blues have had a good week to rue the number of missed chances and a vital VAR decision going against them resulting in their first defeat of the season after dominating most of the game.
Macarthur FC didn’t feature in Matchweek 5, but are coming off a 2-1 victory against the Newcastle Jets in their most recent match and have been a mixed bag with two wins, one draw and one loss.
This is the first time these two clubs have met, and for what it’s worth, Sydney FC should be able to get the job done.
There’s good value in having the Sky Blues leading in the half-time/full-time double.
Brisbane Roar heads into their clash with Adelaide United at Redcliffe the clear favourite this Saturday night.
This game is hard to get a read of if I’m to be honest.
Adelaide United have been a mixed bag so far this season, and the Brisbane Roar are yet to get into the swing of things but there’s a lot to be excited for Warren Moon and his men in orange.
The only match that Brisbane Roar has lost so far this season, has been the only match they have played at home – which was 0-1 in favour of Melbourne City back on December 28th.
Reasons beyond Brisbane Roar’s control have meant it’s been a while since they’ve graced the turf of their new home ground at Redcliffe and they’ll no doubt want to give their fans something to cheer for this Saturday night.
However, the Roar have won their past two matches with big wins over the Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory away proving any critics wrong.
Adelaide United are coming off a so-so 1-0 win over Victory at home and not known for playing well when away.
Brisbane Roar are the favourites in this market and I can’t see any reason not to back them.
The top of the table Central Coast Mariners (there’s a sentence we still can’t wrap our heads around) hosts the bottom of the table Wellington Phoenix this Sunday in Gosford.
Everything appears to be coming up Milhouse for the Mariners this season, with 3 wins and 1 loss.
There’s a lot to like about them and they should continue on their winning ways in this clash.
Many pundits, including yours truly are off the Nix.
They seem to play some decent Football but really can’t get the results.
Perhaps they’ll click and just smash a team one day, but you can’t not but help get around the Central Coast Mariners at the moment.
They truly are fun to watch.
Wellington have won their past five matches against the Mariners, and despite their ladder placing opened the market as favourites to get the full points at time of publish.
This makes the Mariners a top value bet at the $3.15 price.
Perth Glory will be filthy about their missed opportunities over Western United and Melbourne Victory as their tour of Victoria wraps up as they take on Melbourne City at AAMI Park this Sunday.
After sitting out Matchweek 5, this will be the first match Melbourne City play in the space of four days and their recent record at home at AAMI Park will give them plenty of confidence.
Three out of the past five matches between the two sides have resulted in a draw, however, with City being well-rested and Perth on the final leg of a long road trip you would expect the home team to win this one.
After going down to the ‘Nix 2-1 on Sunday, the Central Coast Mariners will have a chance to finish off Matchweek 6 on top of the table backing it up against Melbourne City in Gosford on Wednesday night.
The Mariners were brought back to earth on the weekend, resulting in only their second loss of the season so far.
Melbourne City also has a quick turnaround after their 3-1 loss to Perth Glory on Sunday at AAMI Park.
City will be frustrated after a dominant display in which they couldn’t convert on the back of the net.
Central Coast need to get the draw or win in this clash to return to the top of the League and perhaps the loss to Wellington did them a world of good.
Melbourne City is yet to lose a match this season with two wins and two draws.
I expect this game to be a bit of a shootout, and there’s good value in both splitting the points.