A-League Tips Round 2

Brisbane v Adelaide – (Fri 7:50pm)John Aloisi showed no signs of concern in his post-match press conference saying his side have a good home game next week and that they are heading in the right direction. The Wolf says he will be changing his tune in a month’s time if they fail to get results against Adelaide, Newcastle, Wellington and the Central Coast – last year’s bottom four sides! If there is one positive to come out of the Roar’s loss it was the eye catching performance of Skapetis. He looked very dangerous down the right flank but he will have to improve his final pass. For the Reds it was a matter of letting one get away. Despite conceding early they completely dominated and Blackwood should have given them all 3 points with a free header in the closing stages. The Wolf liked what he saw from the midfield of Isaias, Matmour, Mileusnic and Absalonses. The latter two were very effective out wide and will wreak havoc on the flanks again this week. The Reds have lost just 1 of their last 5 against the Roar (3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss) and have won 4 of their last 7 at Suncorp. These two have a history of really going at it. Just 1 of their last 17 A-League encounters have ended in a draw with 13 of the last 15 producing at least 3 goals. The Wolf says we will be riding Adelaide for at least the opening month of the season.
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals ($1.80)
Value Bet: Adelaide WIN ($3.10)

WSW v Central Coast – (Sat 5:35pm)
We may be just a single game into the season but there is not doubt that these sides will be on different ends of the ladder. How Paul Okon thinks his sides 5-1 loss came down to the Jets taking their chances is beyond all belief! He is in for a real reality check this week as the Wanderers will only build on the back of last weeks performance. It was out first look at the quartet of Riera, Cejudo, Bonevacia and Jumpei and there was a lot to like about it! Bonevacia has found his way into a more advanced role than the one he played at the Phoenix and he absolutely thrived in it. Despite winning the most recent meetings the Mariners have done it very tough against the Wanderers in the past. The Sydney side has won 4 of the last 6 meetings with the Mariners managing just 7 goals in their last 10 against the Wanderers. They will fail to find the back of the net at Spotless and if last week’s performance is anything to go by the Mariners could be on the end of another handful.
Best Bet: Teams To Score – Western Sydney Only ($2.60)
Value Bet: Western Sydney Over 3.5 goals ($4.20)

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City – (Sat 7:50pm)Kevin Muscat will not be happy with the result but he will be pleased at how his side stacked up against Sydney FC with several key members failing to take part. Milligan will not back up from Socceroos duty after logging 120 minutes while Troisi is also unlikely after playing over 70 minutes. Their participation or lack thereof is likely to determine the result. If they play The Wolf has the Victory grabbing all 3 points but regardless of their participation there is one thing that we always see when big brother takes on little brother – GOALS! There have been 3 or more goals in the last 8 clashes and just the 1 draw in that stretch. City have lost just 1 of the last 5 encounters and came out on top in two of the last three meetings last season. McCormack will improve with every game and there was much to like about his combination with Kamau. With Fornaroli and Brandan out for most of the season they will need to contribute on a weekly basis. Berisha has scored in his last two against City and 5 of his last 7 A-League games at home. The goals will start early and will continue to come throughout the 90 minutes.
Best Bet: Over 3.5 goals ($2.60)
Value Bet: Over 4.5 goals ($4.50)

Newcastle v Perth – (Sun 5:00pm)
The Wolf said to expect huge improvement from the Jets and it is hard to avoid the early crow following their 5-1 win in the F3 Derby. It was the first time the club managed to score 5 goals in a single game since 2014 with O’Donovan stealing the show with a first half hat-trick. The Jets showed glimpses of brilliance in attack last season when Nabbout was on the ball but he had no support whatsoever. The additions of Petratos, O’Donovan and the overlapping runs of Georgievski have completely transformed their attack. There is room for more improvement and you can be sure Ernie Merrick will squeeze every bit out of them. The Glory will be up against it for the second week in a row. The came up well short in the midfield battle last week and The Wolf is expecting a similar outcome when they travel to the Hunter. The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings with both teams finding the back of the net in all 4 matches.
Best Bet: Both Teams To Score – YES ($1.44)
Value Bet: Newcastle WIN ($2.20)

Sydney FC v Wellington – (Sun 7:00pm)The Sky Blues started this season exactly how they finished their last – with a win. There is no doubt that they will again be the benchmark this season and Graham Arnold could be right with his assessment that they are a better side than a year ago. Mierzejewski and Retre have slotted right in, Bobo look to have come back leaner while the sublime touches of Ninkovic continue to flow at a rapid rate. Sydney have now maintained 7 clean sheets in their last 9 A-League matches (including finals) and have conceded more than once in just 1 of their last 31 league games! Wellington were lucky to grab a point at home to Adelaide and outside of the early goal created very little. With the Sky Blues backing up from a midweek FFA Cup fixture The Wolf is expecting them to play at a very controlled tempo. Win to nil and Under 2.5 goals will be winning bets all season long in Sydney FC matches.
Best Bet: Teams To Score – Sydney Only ($2.30)
Value Bet: Correct Score Sydney FC 2-0 ($7.50)