Just 15 games remain in the 2021/2022 A-League Men’s regular season and the race for the remaining spots in the finals looms large ahead of this weekend.
The three Victorian clubs have booked their spot in the finals race while Adelaide, Wellington, Macarthur and Central Coast will be looking to cement their case with positive results while Sydney FC watches on from their Asian Champions League hub.
We’ve got our A-League tips below so read on and see where we’ve found the value.
With their slim Premiership hopes dashed, Melbourne Victory will now turn their attention to secure as high a finish as possible in their penultimate game.
Wellington’s attack has struggled in the last few matches scoring just two goals in three matches against Perth, Central Coast and Western Sydney.
Currently sitting in fifth place, the Nix need something from this fixture and they have the talent to cause some drams for a Victory team that is on the back end of a very busy fixture list.
Since the start of March, they have played 13 matches, including an Asian Champions League qualifier in Japan and have not had a full week of rest, with most games coming on a three or four day turnaround.
The gap between these sides is not as big as the market would suggest and Wellington is at a decent price to get something from the match.
We’ll get a great insight into where the Mariners really stand when they take on the Premiers-elect in Western United this Saturday.
They have been nothing short of excellent in their last two matches, scoring four against Wellington and Newcastle which produced the maximum available six points.
Sitting in sixth place, they have to keep winning as they chase a top four finish and a home final, but Western United will also have plenty to play for, a win would put them on top of Melbourne City in the race for the Premiers’ Plate.
John Aloisi’s men have kept back to back clean sheets and will be coming into this one with an 11 day break.
Central Coast have been the entertainers of the league with seven of their last eight games featuring at least four goals and that is the play for this match as both clubs go for it.
Finals football might be beyond the Brisbane Roar’s reach this season, but they have a chance to head to Adelaide and disrupt the Reds push for the playoffs.
A point from this would all but secure a top six finish for Adelaide and they have won their last four home games against the Roar.
This is a rivalry that has produced some of the more memorable clashes in the A-League, especially at Coopers Stadium and this could be another one.
With Brisbane’s squad on notice to show their worth for next season they will push Adelaide and we should see an open, end to end contest.
As the Glory return home, they will apparently have some big-name reinforcements back to bolster a forward line that has been lacking for goals lately.
It sounds like Daniel Sturridge will get the chance to start in front of the fans at HBF Park while Bruno Fornaroli and Andy Keogh will give the youth brigade a bit of a break after a rough run of results.
Of course, plenty could change between now and then but it should see the Glory at least in with a puncher’s chance.
Having some more experienced heads in the squad should at least give them a punchers chance of keeping the game close but I’ll stick with the philosophy of backing against the Glory as they are nearing the end of a season from hell.
The weekend’s action wraps up with a potentially entertaining contest between Macarthur and Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
Defending has let Newcastle down in their last few matches, losing to the Victory, Wanderers and Mariners, conceding nine goals in that time and failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five.
There will be goals in this game, it’s just a question of which team will score them and the play for this game is to take the over.