The Crowd was the star last week with three correct selections and my ambitious, upset driven selection strategy continues to fail.
I’ll persist however, as there are many twists and turns ahead in a long season and plenty of chances for everyone to ride the wave of luck when the tips go your way.
Good luck this week and don’t forget to insert your tips into the sheet below and have your say on the outcome of this week’s matches.
Mike Tuckerman
draw, Brisbane, Western Sydney, Sydney, Victory
Central Coast’s win over Sydney FC last weekend has blown the premiership race wide open, even if it didn’t do much for this tipster’s confidence!
The Mariners kick-start proceedings against Adelaide United in Gosford on Thursday night. Can they make it two home wins in a row? I’m tipping a draw in this one.
Brisbane Roar’s clash with Melbourne City looks an intriguing match-up, with the Roar still searching for their first win of the season.
The visitors have gone off the boil in recent weeks, and I’m tipping the Roar to snatch all three points in front of their home fans.
Western Sydney Wanderers should snap their long draw streak at home to the Wellington Phoenix, while Sydney FC will be hoping to bounce back from their shock defeat when they host table-toppers, Newcastle Jets at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. The Jets are in form, but I suspect the Sky Blues will get the better of them here.
Sunday’s only fixture is equally tough to predict. Melbourne Victory are chasing their first win of the season, and I’m tipping they’ll get it on the road when they face off against a Perth Glory side that continues to concede goals at an alarming rate.
Stuart Thomas
Central Coast, City, Western Sydney, draw, Victory
The Mariners will be buoyed by their outstanding performance against Sydney last Friday and will open the round with a Thursday clash against a struggling Adelaide. Things have taken a recent downturn for the Reds and the invigorated Central Coast supporter base with play a role in this match-up.
Could be goals in this one and the Mariners will net more than Adelaide.
Friday presents another test for Brisbane, still scrapping away, trying to find something to ignite their season. Brett Holman’s goal last week saved the Roar from disaster yet the winless run continued. Despite City looking less impressive over the last few weeks, they will rebound in this one and find a way past an improving yet struggling Brisbane.
The early game on Saturday night sees the Wanderers face the Phoenix. While single points are valuable and far better than a loss, the Wanderers will be getting tired of letting the three points slip away.
It has happened numerous times this season and their second half performances have been unconvincing. The Phoenix come off the back of a five-two drubbing of Perth in which they looked impressive. They face a more interested defence in this one and I feel the Wanderers will be too strong at home.
The second game on Saturday night stands to be a ripper with Sydney looking to rebound after their shock loss to the Mariners and Newcastle looking to cement their place atop the A-League ladder. Tough to call this one. Sydney may bunker down a little in this match in an attempt to restrict the dangerous weapons of the Jets front men, thus, I’ll tip a draw.
I called it last week, and looked a real chance until Brisbane found the equaliser, so I will say it again. Melbourne Victory will break their duck this week and get the win they have been seeking. Perth will be tricky at home, however the leaking defence will be ripe for Besart Berisha and co. to expose.
If the Glory do manage to show some real vigour at the back they do have the potential to cause an upset against a Melbourne team playing without confidence, however, I can’t see it happening and Victory will snatch the win.
(AAP Image/George Salpigtidis)
Daniel Jeffrey
Central Coast, City, Western Sydney, Sydney, Perth
I can’t remember the last time I tipped Central Coast to win a game, but after their excellent outing against an admittedly poor Sydney side last week, there’s no reason why they can’t make it two wins in as many weeks against Adelaide.
Brisbane, on the other hand, are still failing to inspire any confidence whatsoever. Melbourne City, who could have had a hatful of goals against the Wanderers, should pick up a win on the road.
Western Sydney might have been fortunate to escape Melbourne with a draw (they can thank Vedran Janjetovic for that), but at home they should be too good for the Phoenix.
This weekend is a real litmus test for the Jets. They’ve been excellent this year – far better than anyone would have expected – but haven’t played either Sydney FC or Melbourne City yet. That changes this weekend when they travel to Allianz Stadium to face the Sky Blues, a task which I think will prove too tough for them. If Newcastle can grab a draw or win here though, we know they’re the real deal.
As for the final match of the round, I’ve tried tipping the Victory twice this season, neither of which came to fruition. A trip to Perth certainly isn’t going to see me try again.
Alan Kearney
Central Coast, draw, draw, Sydney, Perth
What a relief it was last week for The Mariners when they picked up their first win of the season with a well-deserved victory over Sydney FC. Central Coast have started the season playing a good brand of football but have let themselves down in both boxes, however in last week’s performance they managed to get all aspects of the game right to pick up a valuable three points.
The challenge for them now is to back it up this week against Adelaide. The Reds are coming of the back of a three game losing streak and I can’t see that changing this week. They have too many injuries at the moment to put a side on the pitch to compete for three points.
Both teams had to settle for draws last week, Aloisi will be happy with his side’s character to battle back and get a point away to Victory wile City drew with WSW. Brisbane will be desperate for a win to climb off the bottom of the ladder.
City will be hoping Ross McCormack has his shooting boots on this week, although the Scotsman scored last week he missed a number of chances to put the game beyond WSW. I am going for a draw in this game as I feel Brisbane will be approaching it with the mentality of not to lose rather than win.
Wellington surprised me last week after such a poor display the week before against Newcastle. They handed out a proper beating to Perth Glory and played with an attacking intent which they lacked the week before.
The question is can they back it up on the road as they have lost the last three on their travels. The Wanderers picked up a good point on the road away to Melbourne City but if they want to challenging come the end of the season they will see this as a must win game. I reckon a draw with both teams cancelling each other out.
The Champions suffered a bad loss last week and will look to bounce back against the high flying Jets. Sydney were outplayed all over the park against CCM and didn’t play with the same tempo that we are used to.
(AAP Image/ Julian Smith)
Newcastle had a good win against Adelaide and are playing a very consistent level. The front three for the Jets are proving hard to handle for teams and this has the makings off a real good game. I am backing Sydney to bounce back, beware of the wounded animal.
This is a really interesting one, who would have thought Victory would be sitting second bottom after six games. They are under massive pressure considering they are one of the biggest clubs in the league. It doesn’t get any easier this week as they make the long trip to Perth.
They also have to make do without the Internationals they have in the squad. Perth will be glad to be back at home as their miserable form on the road continued last week. They will look to bounce straight back and with a strong home crowd and Victory’s recent form I fancy them to heap more pressure on Kevin Muscat’s men by getting a win.
| Round 7 | Mike | Stuart | Daniel | Alan | The Crowd |
| CCM vs ADL | DRAW | CCM | CCM | CCM | CCM |
| BRI vs MCY | BRI | MCY | MCY | DRAW | MCY |
| WSW vs WEL | WSW | WSW | WSW | DRAW | WSW |
| SYD vs NEW | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | NEW |
| PER vs MVC | MVC | MVC | PER | PER | PER |
| Last week | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Previous Total | 13 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| New Total | 15 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The loser of the Sydney Derby will be under immense pressure entering the final three matches of the season.
Anthony Caceres is a player with immense talent and has a fantastic work rate, broke the deadlock against the Mariners in the 74th minute.
Plenty of Aussies impressed in the final week of March, showing their talents off abroad and in their backyard. Here's the best XI of…
Round 19 was an interesting weekend of football with no draws, 19 goals in six matches, two five-goal games on Sunday and for the…
Round 17 was full of interesting contests and plenty of controversy. The highlight of the weekend was a five-goal thriller between the Perth Glory…
