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The Roar's A-League expert tips and predictions: Round 21

22nd February, 2017
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The Brisbane Roar are out for revenge. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
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22nd February, 2017
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It’s over! Sydney’s undefeated streak has finally been ended, yet all anyone can talk about is a certain banner from that game. Pity. Anyway, here’s another dose of A-League expert tips.

Unsurprisingly, Sydney FC’s derby-day slip-up threw everyone off in what was a difficult week; the worst score for the round was one from five, the best a paltry two.

Those two points were enough to get me back up to equal first on our little ladder alongside Vas on 52 apiece. Next up on 44 is The Crowd and Mike, who has become so exasperated with the state of his tipping that he’s decided to delegate this week’s tips to his better half.

Matt (43) is a point behind that aforementioned pair, while Janek is a further three points back.

This week will see Sydney look to bounce back with a trip to face Melbourne City, before a Saturday triple-header which sees the Roar host Wellington, the Victory host Adelaide and Perth host the Wanderers.

Newcastle will then finish things off for the weekend when they host the Mariners in an F3 derby on Sunday afternoon.

As always, be sure to lend your voice to The Crowd in the form below to help every Roarer out-tip the experts. Voting closes at 4pm (AEDT) on Friday, so make sure you check back after then to see the final results.

On to the tips!

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Mike Tuckerman

Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Draw, Newcastle Jets

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
Sydney. The Wanderers might have finally broken Sydney’s unbeaten streak, but this isn’t the worst thing for the Sky Blues. The pressure cooker has been turned down and they can get back to playing the sort of quality football we’ve come to expect.

filip-holosko-sydney-fc-a-league-football-2017

Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
Brisbane. The Roar are just getting better as the season goes on, demonstrating some serious cohesion both in the A-league and ACL. Holding Muangthong to a draw was no mean feat and gave some young squad members a chance to flex their muscles. The A-team should be well rested for an afternoon clash.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
Victory. It will be a challenge to close the gap on league-leaders Sydney, but the Victory certainly aren’t shying away. Meanwhile, Adelaide are still treading water in 10th spot.

Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Draw. The Glory could have been a hot favourite here if it weren’t for the Wanderers finally breaking their derby drought. This one has potential to be the most entertaining fixture of the round.

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Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners
Newcastle. Both teams are coming off a loss and need to get some runs on the board if they want to secure a spot in the top six. This could go either way, but the Jets have just been that little bit better across the 20 rounds past.

Matt Connellan

Draw, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Perth Glory, Draw

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
Draw. Sydney will be chastened by their loss to the Wanderers and if City have any smarts about them, they’ll let Sydney have the ball like Western Sydney did.

The Sky Blues are all about the counter-attack and when faced with a low block they don’t have much magic up top in Bobo. City like the ball too, though, so they’ll play their usual style, making it too hard to split.

Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
Brisbane. Wellington just fell apart at home to City last weekend – Brisbane are juggling a hectic schedule but I still think they’ll be too good at home for the Nix.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
Victory. Adelaide finally picked up another three points last weekend but the Victory aren’t Newcastle. In fact, they’re still my favourites for the grand final. Another win against Adelaide should prove me right, I hope.

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Besart Berisha of Victory celebrates after scoring a goal

Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Perth. The Wanderers played the man and played it well against Sydney, late penalty notwithstanding.

But it’s just such a tough trip to Perth, especially after a midweek game, so I’ll back the Glory in here.

Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners
Draw. The F3/M1/who cares derby. A draw, I guess.

Janek Speight

Melbourne City, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Perth Glory, Newcastle Jets

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
City. I’m well behind in the tipping, so might as well go against the grain. City to hand Sydney a shock second consecutive loss.

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Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
Brisbane. The Roar have let leads slip in consecutive weeks, and they must get three points here to gain momentum for the finals run-in.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
Melbourne. Hard to see Adelaide getting anything from this Victory side.

Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Perth. Western Sydney will be buoyed by their derby win, but a midweek match in the ACL will make a trip to Perth tough.

Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners
Newcastle. The Jets’ inconsistency has been frustrating but a derby win would give their finals hopes a welcome boost. This city needs some sporting joy.

Vas Venkatramani

Draw, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Perth Glory, Newacstle Jets

Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
Draw. Dreams of an invincible season came crashing down last week for Sydney FC, as did an unbeaten record against crosstown rivals the Wanderers. In the face of their first disappointment, a trip south to face a motivated City side, fresh from smacking five past the Phoenix, will be a tough ask. City can move to outright third with a win, in what promises to be the match of the round.

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Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
Brisbane. A tough point was earnt out west for the Roar, and against a hapless Phoenix who let in five last week, they should be too strong for the visitors. Locked in equal third alongside Melbourne City, the Roar must win in order to keep their distance from the chasers in the pack, while the Phoenix’s extremely slim finals hopes can only remain with three points.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
Melbourne. The original derby takes place on the back of a rare Adelaide United win this season, while the home team were formidable in putting three past the Mariners last week. The results may feel inconsequential for the Victory, given they are well clear of both the Roar and City, yet still trail by eight to Sydney FC. But Adelaide United won’t lack for any, as they are still five behind the Mariners and Phoenix at the bottom. Victory should be too strong.

Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Glory. Which Perth will show up? The one that put five past Adelaide, or the one that leaked two points at home to the Roar? Their struggles for consistency shouldn’t cost them a finals berth, yet home wins usually make for strong campaigns for the Glory. Their challenge isn’t easy, against a Wanderers side fresh from defeating Sydney FC for the first time. Perth should win, but this isn’t the first time I’ve made that claim.

Nebojsa Marinkovic Perth Glory

Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners
Newcastle. Despite poor campaigns, both Newcastle and Central Coast are still in touching distance of the finals, so incentivising the latest F3 derby should be no problem. Yet both campaigns have been plagued by inconsistency, with Newcastle not taking advantage against Adelaide United last week, while the Mariners were thrashed by the Victory at home. Newcastle will claim favouritism due to home advantage, but little else separates these two.

Daniel Jeffrey

Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Perth Glory, Newcastle Jets

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Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
Sydney. Fresh off what was a controversial loss, Sydney won’t lack motivation when they head south to face City. Expect Arnie’s men to bounce back with a round-opening win.

Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
Brisbane. The Roar have been priming themselves for a strong finals run despite an ACL-laden schedule. Against a Phoenix side fresh off leaking five goals against City, Brisbane should be far too strong.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
Melbourne. This one didn’t take too much thought. The competition’s second best side against one languishing at the wrong end of the table? Yeah, I’ll go with Melbourne here.

Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Perth. Buoyed as they will be after their derby day win, a trip out west after a midweek Champions League match that went about as badly as possible doesn’t bode well for the Wanderers. Despite their inconsistencies this season, Perth should be too good in this one.

Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners
Newcastle. The Mariners’ recent revival was dealt a severe blow last Sunday, and I’m expecting Newcastle to continue the misery for Paul Okon’s side.

Round 21 Mike Matt Janek Vas Daniel The Crowd
MLC v SYD SYD Draw MLC Draw SYD MLC
BRI v WEL BRI BRI BRI BRI BRI BRI
MVC v ADL MVC MVC MVC MVC MVC MVC
PER v WSW Draw PER PER PER PER PER
NEW v CCM NEW Draw NEW NEW NEW NEW
Last week 2 1 2 1 2 1
Total 44 43 40 52 52 44

That’s what we think, but you may have an entirely different set of tips. Be sure to add your to The Crowd before 4pm (AEDT) on Friday to help out-tip the experts.

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