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Melbourne City vs Wellington Phoenix: A-League live scores, blog

Roar Guru
21st October, 2017
Time: 5.30pm AEST
Venue: AAMI Park
Last meeting: Phoenix 1-5 City; 2016/17 A-League season
TV: Live FoxSports
Betting: Melbourne City $1.50 Draw $4.50, Wellington Phoenix $5.50
Tim Cahill. Old, but good. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Roar Guru
21st October, 2017
44
1288 Reads

Match result:

Melbourne City have started the season with three straight wins for the first time in their history after defeating the Wellington Phoenix 1 nil in a tight contest at AAMI Park.

Final score
Melbourne City 1
Wellington Phoenix 0

Match preview:

Melbourne City will be favoured to win their third game on the trot when they host Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:30pm AEDT.

City have defied expectations somewhat, winning their first two matches of the season against Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory. They are more stable at the back compared to the last campaign and will take plenty of confidence into today’s contest against Wellington.

The Phoenix have opened the season with a draw and a narrow defeat to premiership favourites Sydney FC away from home. Despite losing 3-2, the Phoenix did well to keep themselves in the contest last week and are a good chance of causing an upset if City underestimates a team that is on the mend.

City have the edge in recent form between the teams, winning their last three matches against the Phoenix which included a 5-1 shellacking in Wellington last season.

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While such a scoreline is unlikely to be reproduced this afternoon, it wouldn’t surprise to see at least four goals scored between two sides that like to attack.

After being rested for 80 minutes against Victory, expect Socceroos legend Tim Cahill to feature more prominently for City this week. Cahill will be keen to keep his strong form going ahead of crucial World Cup qualifying matches against Honduras just under a month away.

Prediction
City had a lot of success against Victory on the counterattack, but it will be interesting to see if they let Wellington dictate terms with possession. The Phoenix are dangerous on the counter themselves, particularly with Dario Vidosic and Roy Krishna upfront.

Overall, the Phoenix should provide City with an honest test at home, but City’s quality upfront led by Cahill should once again steer them to another win.

City to win 3-1

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