A-League Round 5 Tips & Preview

A-League Round 5 Tips & Preview

Just two rounds of A-League action remains before the competition takes a brief hiatus for the upcoming World Cup.

In the meantime though there are plenty of storylines to unfold as well as several fascinating matches to take place.

Round 5 is headlined by the Saturday night clash between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners with both clubs desperate for all three points.

We’ve got our tips and previews for every match below so read on and find out who we like in the A-League this weekend!

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets
Newcastle Win/Draw Double Chance @ $1.87

The biggest story in the A-League this week is the Victory’s signing of the Socceroos Uruguayan born striker Bruno Fornaroli and by all accounts at the time of publish, he will be available for this fixture.

With Tomi Juric returning to full fitness, that combination will be out to guide the Victory to their first win since Round 1 with the side picking up just one point from their last three fixtures.

Newcastle fell for the first time last week and Arthur Pappas should have his side set to respond here.

Each of the last four A-League matches between these teams have been won by the visiting club and there is more than enough there to feel confident backing the Jets outright.

With the Victory scoreless since Round 1 and Newcastle set to get their star strikers back, take a look at the double chance market for a bit of a safety net.

Melbourne City v Perth Glory
Melbourne City to Win -1 Goal @ $2.00

Just like their Mancunian counterparts, Melbourne City don’t drop points on consecutive occasions all that often.

Last week’s collapse against Wellington will have provided City coach Patrick Kisnorbo with the opportunity to remind his side that nothing can be taken for granted at the moment.

Perth is still a step behind clubs like City but they have shown an ability to be competitive on their day, with all four of their matches being decided by a solitary goal.

However with City eager to show last week was an anomaly and their forward line all trying to mount a case for Socceroos selection, the home side could go on a bit of a rampage if given the opportunity.

Western Sydney Wanderers v Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast to Win @ $3.50

Saturday’s feature match comes from CommBank Stadium as the Wanderers will look to extend their unbeaten run.

They will be relying on their super stingy defence that has only allowed one goal through 360 minutes of football to carry them to victory but that group will be put to the test.

Central Coast’s attack came to life last week scoring four second half goals to cap a come from behind win over Western United.

Jason Cummings stole the show with a hand in every goal while Garang Kuol is out to leave the A-League on a high note after his cameo appearance as well.

If the Mariners can build on that second half they will give Western Sydney all they can handle, but this game will be decided by whoever can dictate the play.

Once again the value in this fixture lies in the visitor and Central Coast are a much better chance than their price would suggest.

Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC
Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals @ $1.83

Sunday’s triple header kicks off in windy Wellington and we could be in for a goalfest between these clubs.

Wellington is chasing its first win of the season having picked up three draws from four matches but both teams to score has hit in every one of their outings and the last three have seen four goals scored.

Macarthur will be bitterly disappointed to have lost against Sydney FC last week following a controversial red card to defender Jon Aspropotamitis and his absence will need to be covered in this fixture.

It’s not an encouraging sign when you have to deal with the likes of Ben Waine and David Ball who are both proven goalscorers.

We should be in for a high scoring affair that really could go either way and the play for this match is to back goals to be scored.

Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Draw @ $3.35

The joke that many will make this week is that Brisbane should change their nickname from “Roar” to “Draw” having shared the points in three of four matches so far.

We won’t make that joke however because there is value to be found against Sydney FC this weekend.

Especially with this being the Roar’s last match before the interlull following the postponement of their Round 6 trip to Perth.

Sydney has taken four points from their last two outings and in both games they have been the beneficiaries of red cards to their opponents.

It makes it tough to get a read on where they truly are as a team however because of the man advantage for over 100 of the last 180 minutes.

There are concerns with Brisbane as well, as the Roar have only scored once this season and will go into this one without starting goalkeeper Jordan Holmes following his red card against the Victory.

If nothing else, Brisbane’s sheer stubbornness will give them a chance in this one and another draw looks to be the way to go.

Western United v Adelaide United
Adelaide to Win @ $2.80

It might be time to stop giving Western United the benefit of the doubt with John Aloisi’s men off to a start reminiscent of the Roar’s ill fated start to their title defence in the 2015-2016 season.

Admittedly missing a few key players and struggling to keep teams at bay in defence, United do have a bit of an excuse for their slow start however Adelaide could put that struggling defence under even more pressure.

It looks like the Reds might have something going for them, following their hard fought draw with Sydney while down a man, they put away a valiant Perth side last week.

They are a much better shot than their $2.80 quote and are worth backing in this situation as Western United might need the World Cup break to straighten a few things out.