A-LEAGUE ROUND 11 PREVIEW

The Perth Glory are back on top of the A-League after a truly bizarre 1-4 win over the Central Coast Mariners in which the goalpost snapped. The most promising sign for Tony Popovic’s side was the performance of Fabio Ferreira who scored twice in the absence of Chris Ikonomidis who also scored for the Socceroos. Ferreira could be the player to lift the Glory alongside the Victory in attack as they race towards the A-League Premiership/Championship.

The Wolf takes a look at all the action from Matchday 11 of the A-League.

Multi: Melbourne Victory/Melbourne City ($4.61)

MATCH/TIME (AEST)	A-LEAGUE BEST BETS
SYDNEY FC v CENTRAL COAST MARINERS JUBILEE OVAL FRI 4 JAN 0750PM	Sydney FC ($1.25)
ADELAIDE UNITED v WELLINGTON PHOENIX HINDMARSH STADIUM SAT 5 JAN 0535PM	Adelaide United ($1.81) Both teams to score – Yes ($1.66)
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS v MELBOURNE VICTORY STADIUM AUSTRALIA SAT 5 JAN 0750PM	Melbourne Victory ($2.25)
MELBOURNE CITY v NEWCASTLE JETS AAMI STADIUM SUN 6 JAN 0500PM	Melbourne City ($2.05)
BRISBANE ROAR v PERTH GLORY SUNCORP STADIUM SUN 6 JAN 0700PM	Perth Glory ($2.90)

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (LWLDL) ($2.80) v MELBOURNE VICTORY (WWWDD) ($2.25)

Honda out.

The big news coming out of the Melbourne Victory is the hamstring injury to superstar Keisuke Honda. The Japanese international will miss at least a month which will test just how dependent the Victory were on their new import. Nick Ansell is also injured although the Wolf thinks that Kevin Muscat’s are still one of the better sides in the A-League even with those players out.

The Wanderers seem particularly emotional under Markus Babbel. Every week we are hearing big statements about the team’s struggles coming from the manager, their active fanbase the RBB and even chairman Paul Lederer. If the Wanderers are going to challenge in this game they need to maintain concentration in defence. This was missing against Melbourne City last week in a 2-0 loss.

The Victory were a class above the Wanderers when these two teams met in early December (4-0) and the Wolf expects Melbourne to regroup from Honda’s and find another win at Stadium Australia.

BEST BETS: Melbourne Victory ($2.25)

BRISBANE ROAR (LLLLD) ($2.90) v PERTH GLORY (DWWLW) ($2.34)

The Glory fight for top spot on the A-League table

It has been another big week for the Roar, with John Aloisi leaving the club last week and former boss Mark Kingsman passing away on Wednesday. Brisbane definitely showed a bounce in form last weekend, pushing the Sky Blues all the way in a 2-1 loss before a 2-2 draw with the Newcastle Jets during the week.

Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young was absolutely superb against Ernie Merrick’s side and we suspect he may be busy with Andy Keogh scoring a brace against the Mariners and Fabio Ferreira squeezing every ounce of opportunity from Chris Ikonomidis’ absence.

Tough to see the Roar breaking through against the top of the table Glory.

BEST BETS: Perth Glory ($2.34)