The A-League men’s just keeps on keeping on.
Matchweek 22 brings us midweek action starting on Tuesday night, with major fixtures such as the Melbourne Derby thrown in for extra spice.
Either way, it’s another recipe for Punters to find some delicious value and winners with the round-ball game.
Can we make it a winning one?
Check out our A-League Matchweek 22 Tips & Preview below
The weekend of the A-League kicks off with a blockbuster clash between 5th placed Adelaide United and 4th placed Macarthur in what could be a preview for what we will see come finals time.
It’s been a tough month for the Reds, having lost their past four games and three of those without a goal scored.
Adelaide United had plenty of chances to get one in the back of the net against Victory last week, which always hurts when playing against their biggest rival.
Macarthur is fresh from a high-scoring 4-2 win over Perth Glory, and the last time they faced Adelaide United back in February they smashed the Reds 4-1.
While Adelaide United can be a good bet when playing at home,their form of recent has been poor and Macarthur is in a good position to get the full three points on the road.
Western United are back in Ballarat this Saturday and takes on the Nix.
The “home” team has been playing some really good football of recent, currently sitting second on the table, but can’t end up top of the table with City sitting eight points clear.
Wellington Phoenix has had some horrible results of recent, a 5-0 loss to the Mariners and a 6-0 against Melbourne City.
This puts the over very much in play with the 2.5 goals market has hit in each of Wellington’s last seven A-League matches.
There’s good value on taking Western United and the Over 3.5 goals here, the Nix are truly a sorry sight.
A truly fascinating encounter awaits us at Commbank Stadium when the Wanderers play host to Brisbane Roar.
With both sides sitting down at the bottom of the table, Wanderers 11th and Roar 10th, they will be keen to get the full points in what has been an ordinary season for the respective clubs.
A good trend for Punters when it comes to games involving the Roar is that the underdog has won four of Brisbane’s last five matches.
The Roar at $3.30 is good value and when these two teams last met in January, Brisbane managed a 3-0 win over the Wanderers.
However, a fair bit has changed since then and Mark Rudan has since been made the man with the top job at the Wanderers, with a 2-1 record against Roar manager Warren Moon.
The Wanderers have gone their past three matches without a win, coming off a 3-2 loss in the Sydney Derby, with the Roar pleased to bank the full three points with a 2-0 win against the Jets.
Both are rather evenly matched and all signs point to the pair splitting the points.
Back the draw.
There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the Melbourne Derby and third-placed Victory would love nothing better to bring the sitting comfortably at the top City down a peg or two.
City is flying right now.
Eight points clear on top, three wins on the trot, six games without a loss and would love to enforce their might on their fellow AAMI Park co-tenant.
Victory keeps getting the job done after a big road trip to Adelaide and Perth, gaining 1-0 wins and the full three points in each.
To make it three wins in the space of the week, topping it off by beating City in the Derby would be very satisfying to the Vuck faithful.
However, I’ve gone with something a bit unconventional for a tip in this game.
Dating back to when Kevin Muscat did that unfortunate tackle on Melbourne Heart winger Adrian Zahra in 2011 (resulting in an eight week suspension), there’s always been feisty Melbourne Derbies.
Given where both sides sit on the ladder, expect this one to be as feisty as any we’ve seen and I’d be surprised if we didn’t see the ref pull out a red card.
I’ll take that $4.20!
Central Coast Mariners could find themselves in the top six if they were to topple Sydney FC on Saturday night.
The Mariners are one of the in-form teams of the competition right now, having gone seven games without a loss and fresh from a midweek 5-0 belting of the Phoenix.
Sydney FC will be feeling sore and sorry having come off the receiving end of a 4-0 loss to league leaders Melbourne City.
How the bookies have the sky blues pencilled in as favourites is beyond me.
If you’re after quirky punting stats, Central Coast has won four of its last five night matches as a home underdog.
You could back the Mariners on that, or just the fact they’ve been playing better football and at home.
Either way, take the Mariners in this one.
I need not even justify my tip in this game.
Season 2021-22 couldn’t end quick enough for Perth Glory.
The boys from the West have gone 11 games without a win, and wouldn’t know how to.
Despite a 2-0 loss to Brisbane Roar midweek, this presents a perfect opportunity for the Jets to get back on the winners list with the full three points in the bank.
Expect them to be in front at half-time and at the final whistle.
Midweek Fixtures
With only a few days to recover from their 0-6 loss to Melbourne City (or zero-sux as they would say in New Zealand), the Wellington Phoneix have to back it up and take on the Mariners in Gosford.
The Mariners have been in reasonable form of late, going six matches without a loss.
Both teams are relatively evenly matched going into this match, with the Nix in seventh spot and the Mariners eighth, the Nix could get back into the top six with a win as Central Coast still need to play catch up on points.
Perhaps the reality check dished out to the Phoenix by Melbourne City could be just the thing Wellington needs to get their act together.
I reckon we’re headed for a draw in this one and taking the $3.60 on offer.
Three wins on the trot, ten games without a loss and fresh from belting the Nix 6-0 on the weekend, Melbourne City will look forward to making life difficult for Sydney FC on Wednesday night.
That’s not to say, Sydney FC won’t be up and about as they managed to get the job done 3-2 in the Derby against the Wanderers last week.
However, the top-of-the-league Melbourne City at AAMI Park is a very daunting task for them.
In what will be the first meeting between these two sides since last year’s A-League Grand Final, I don’t think this game will have anything on last season’s decider.
With a five-point buffer against Western United on top of the table, not to mention the 20+ goal difference, expect Melbourne City to gain yet another full three points and sit very comfortably on top.
A pretty straightforward tip this one.
Melbourne Victory heads West to take on the bottom of the table Glory, for whom the season couldn’t end quick enough.
The Glory comes off a 4-2 away loss to Macarthur on the weekend, with Victory up and about beating Adelaide United away 1-0 in the original rivalry.
You simply cannot make a case for Perth Glory in this one.
10 weeks without a win, with just three wins in 19 matches.
It’s worth noting that Melbourne Victory has been getting Under 2.5 goals in five out of their last six games, and with a quick turnaround along with additional travel they might be a bit tired, but not to let this one slide.
A Victory win/Under is terrific value to keep things interesting.