A-League Matchday 16 Tips & Preview

A-League Matchday 16 Tips & Preview

Matchday 16 of the A-League boasts several exciting fixtures and launches in the west of Sydney on Friday night with a battle between Macarthur and Brisbane.

Typically, there is plenty of value to be extracted and our complete A-League Matchday 16 tips can be found below.

Macarthur FC vs Brisbane Roar
Macarthur to Win ($2.10)

Macarthur will look to strengthen their position in the top four at the expense of the Brisbane Roar on Friday night.

The Bulls’ lean patch of form is well and truly in the rear-view mirror, and they have now recorded three impressive wins in succession to climb up the ladder.

Monday night’s tough performance and win over the Perth Glory was highlighted by another outstanding performance up from Matt Derbyshire, and the classy Brit is now second in Golden Boot standings after scoring a brace.

The Roar have ultimately been undone by their inconsistency and they remain winless since early February.

Macarthur recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory they last time that these two sides met, and I’m expecting something similar on Friday.

Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne Victory
Draw ($3.70)

There doesn’t look to be a lot in this one for the neutral supporter, but given the standing of these two clubs on the A-League ladder, it could very well prove to be the contest of the week.

The Jets have been nothing short of awful this season, and they’ve struggled to get anything out of any match – they’ve won just three and lost ten (drawing two) so far.

Things have somehow been even worse for the Victory – you wouldn’t know that they are one of the A-League’s most successful clubs, given what they’ve achieved this campaign.

Simply put, the end of the season cannot arrive quickly enough for either.

The Jets somewhat deserve their favouritism at home, but I personally cannot split them.

Sydney FC vs Melbourne City
Draw ($3.50)

The match of the round is more likely to materialise when Sydney FC hosts Melbourne City on Saturday evening.

It’s the solitary top four clash of the week; a win for City would see them draw level (at least temporarily) with the table-topping Mariners, while Sydney could potentially leapfrog their rivals and Macarthur into second, with other results also going their way.

Matchday 15 saw both clubs in action twice. For City, it was a loss to Western United and a last-gasp win over the Phoenix (which really should have been a flogging), while for the Sky Blues, it was a pair of wins over the lowly Victory and the Glory.

There’s value around both clubs in match betting and I completely understand diving into either side here, but I am once again happy to sit on the fence at the quote that is currently on offer.

Adelaide United vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Adelaide to Win ($2.15)

Another quality contest looks like materialising when Adelaide United and Western Sydney clash at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night.

Both sides find themselves on the cusp of the top four and winning this fixture could very well prove vital to the prospects of each.

The Reds’ recent form has been good: they recorded an impressive win over Sydney FC two back and did lose 2-1 on Matchday 15, but it was at the hands of the competition leaders.

The Wanderers can perhaps count themselves unlucky not to take winning form into this match following Tuesday night’s bizarre and somewhat question match against the Mariners, but prior to that, they were held to a draw by the underperforming Roar.

In Adelaide, I’m happy to stick with the home side.

Wellington Phoenix vs Western United
Western United to Win ($2.80)

We’re off to faux New Zealand (Wollongong) on Sunday for an intriguing match between the Wellington Phoenix and Western United.

The Phoenix have lost their last two matches, but they didn’t play poorly in either, and they are unlucky not to have taken even a solitary point.

They’ll be quietly confident of a result in front of their ‘home’ crowd, and they remain favourites in betting to get one.

Western United have been rather inconsistent all year, materialising in their current position of seventh in overall standings.

They do appear to have bounced back into a nice vein of form, however, and are seeking a third win in succession after defeating both City and the Jets last week. I’m eager to take the value around them to do so.

Newcastle Jets vs Perth Glory
Both Teams to Score ($1.58)

The Newcastle Jets will be back in action for the second time this week when they host the Glory on Tuesday night.

While I’m sure we’ll have a slightly better outlook on this match and what to expect after they play the Victory on Saturday afternoon, I’m not particularly confident in their chances of winning, and they are under the odds as $2.10 favourites.

I’m not particularly confident in Perth on this side of the country either, so I think that they key is to stay away from match betting.