You can learn a lot through how your tipping fares. Assuming that each result is come to a conclusion through something remotely logical, each match can either refine or reinforce opinions.
Looking back to last week and despite only having one correct tip, it was only the Sydney-Central Coast match that was completely misread. Why? We’ll get to that later.
Adelaide v Newcastle
Date: Friday 25th November
Time: 8:00pm EDT (Fox Sports 1)
Location: Hindmarsh Stadium
Referee: Matthew Gillett
Changes:
Adelaide
In: Antony Golec (promoted), Evgeniy Levchenko, Milan Susak (Both return from injury) (Two To Be Omitted)
Out: Cassio (ankle – indefinite)
Unavailable: Sergio Van Dijk (calf – 1 week), Daniel Mullen, Mark Birighitti (Both international duty)
Newcastle:
In: Tiago Calvano, Michael Bridges, James Virgili, Matthew Nash (GK), Ali Abbas (All promoted) (Three To Be Omitted)
Out: Ben Kennedy (GK), Ben Kantarovski
Unavailable: Ben Kennedy (concussion), Ben Kantarovski (U23s duty)
Adelaide’s Talking Point: Standing On The Precipice: Part 1. Despite Andy Slory’s proclamations that he left Adelaide on positive terms, in reality that’s about as likely as Central Coast actually winning a Grand Final they participate in. Just as everything was starting to settle down – three matches unbeaten – the club is hit with the double whammy of Slory leaving and Cassio possibly sustaining a long-term injury.
It means that the defensive line for Adelaide on Friday night could actually consist of four natural defenders. If that’s not a recipe for potential disaster then Chris Beath isn’t a horrendous referee at all times. All of the above means that this match doubles as the swing point for their season heading into a tough pre-Christmas stretch. If Newcastle manage to pull off a rare road win there could be huge trouble at Hindmarsh in a month or so.
Newcastle’s Talking Point: Despite its limited sample size just seven weeks into the season, an interesting stat has emerged of Brisbane’s opponents so far. The week following a match against the reigning champions, no team has lost; a record of 2-4-0 the end results. That’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Before you read too much into that surprising note it has to be noted that Newcastle away from home currently play at a level that not even the local Under 12’s are envious of. Despite the erratic Ben Kennedy missing this week due to injury, it’s almost a case of better the devil you know. Jack Duncan wasn’t sternly tested in his time out on the field last week; the two goals Brisbane scored efforts that were impossible to be saved. The question is; how does he cope with his first full start? Does he cope? The tip shows my thoughts.
Tip: Adelaide (2-1)
Central Coast v Melbourne Heart
Date: Saturday 26th November
Time: 5:30pm EDT (Fox Sports 1)
Location: Bluetongue Stadium
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Changes:
Central Coast
In: Brad Porter, Trent Sainsbury, Sam Gallagher (All Promoted) (Three To Be Omitted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Mathew Ryan, Oliver Bozanic, Brad McDonald (All U’23 Duty – 1 week), Stuart Musialik (Adductor – 1 week), Adam Kwasnik (Ankle – 1 week)
Heart
In: Kristian Sarkies (promoted), Aziz Behich (returns from international duty) (Two To Be Omitted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Nick Kalmar (Back – 4 weeks), Kliment Taseski (Foot – long term), Kamal Ibrahim (Ankle – 2 weeks), Alex Terra (Hamstring – 1-2 weeks), Jason Hoffman (international duty), Mate Dugandzic (international duty)
Central Coast’s Talking Point: Can’t Amini just start already? Please? From a fan’s perspective it’s about the only entertaining thing about watching the Mariners; the spark he provides when he’s involved in the play lifts everyone else around him. Apart from Amini there’s no fun in watching the Mariners rack up points in their boringly efficient way.
So brings an end to our extremely analytical, in-depth discussion on the Central Coast Mariners for this week.
Heart’s Talking Point: In something that’s not particularly relevant to this match but needs to be discussed: Could van’t Schip make it any less obvious that he can’t stand Simon Colosimo? At the slightest hint of an injury Colosimo will either be dragged or start as a substitute, any one bad game will lead to a demotion, he’s on an extremely short leash and ultimately the quicker he manages to find his way out of the Heart the better for his own career.
With Hamill, Good, Madaschi and Thompson, there is enough depth in the central defenders that Colosimo can leave in January as long as there’s a replacement found for Madaschi. It would be for the betterment of both parties if they find a way to sort all that out amicably.
Tip: Draw (1-1)
Brisbane v Perth
Date: Saturday 26th November
Time: 7:45pm EDT
Location: Suncorp Stadium (Fox Sports 1)
Referee: Jared Gillett
Changes:
Brisbane
Unchanged
Unavailable: Kofi Danning, Matt Jurman, Mitch Nichols (All International duty), 20 Andrew Redmayne (abdominal injury – 3 weeks)
Perth
In: Tommy Amphlett, Jesse Makarounas, Trent McClenahan (All Promoted) (One To Be Omitted)
Out: Liam Miller (suspended – 1 week), Mile Sterjovski (wife giving birth)
Unavailable: Steve Pantelidis (Achilles), Victor Sikora (hip – long term injury list), Scott Neville (knee), Travis Dodd (hamstring- 3 weeks),Evan Berger (hamstring – 6-weeks), Neil Young (abdominal)
Brisbane’s Talking Point: The last couple of weeks has had more public acknowledgement from the Brisbane players of their undefeated streak than at any other point. On one hand it is to be expected; after all they’re right on the door of creating one of the most noteworthy runs in worldwide sport.
However, it can’t be a coincidence that as discussion of the upcoming record has begun to flow freely amongst the players it’s led to disjointed performances. This isn’t to take credit away from their opponents – particularly Newcastle last week who were excellent for the first hour – but Brisbane haven’t missed that many simple passes all season. With the last step in their achievement happening this Saturday night, it’s simply a question of whether surpassing the landmark will lead to the levels increasing again or perhaps a further fall.
Perth’s Talking Point: How does Perth continue their momentum from the last 20 minutes against the Victory when facing a Brisbane side gunning for the record? How do they do it without Liam Miller? How do they go up to Suncorp with the knowledge that everything is going against them and still have the confidence to earn a result?
Rather than over-analyse it, let’s think like this: Perth can either play like Newcastle or they can play like Wellington. Perth has Ian Ferguson as their coach. Perth will play like Wellington. However, against a Brisbane side that is about to make history, good luck getting the draw that the Phoenix attained.
Tip: Brisbane (2-0)
Wellington v Sydney
Date: Sunday 27th November
Time: 2:30pm EDT (Fox Sports 1)
Location: Westpac Stadium
Referee: Ryan Shepheard
Changes:
Wellington
In: Cameron Lindsay, Niko Tsattalios (Both Promoted) (Two To Be Omitted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Lucas Pantelis (knee injury – indefinite), Jimmy Downey (knee injury – 2 to 3 weeks), Dani Sanchez (groin injury – 1 to 2 weeks), Mirjan Pavlovic (broken arm – 1 week).
Sydney
Unchanged
Unavailable: Nil
Wellington’s Talking Point: Apart from Ben Sigmund having some serious karma coming towards him down the line for his efforts after Boogaard’s own goal in the dying minutes it’s hard to find anything newsworthy to talk about besides Wellington’s woeful head to head record against Sydney. Take out Round 6 of last season and Sydney hasn’t lost to the Phoenix since before Chris Payne learned how to use his hands.
Taking into account Wellington’s poor home form so far this season – which feels extremely weird to write – and their position on the ladder, it means one thing has to happen; the return of Paul Ifill to the starting lineup. Even if he only plays 55-60 minutes his workload has to be increased from the half an hour he played against Adelaide. The season is slipping away too quickly.
Sydney’s Talking Point: In the intro it was mentioned that the logic on Sydney last week was completely wrong. Pass And Move sum it up rather concisely in their match review:
“Lavicka on the other hand, favoured an ill-fitting, positive approach. He instructed Sydney to press the Mariners, to force turnovers in dangerous areas, and retain the initiative. The problem, simply enough, is that Sydney suck at it.”
With the team taking a flight over the sea to Wellington this weekend, it doesn’t seem reasonable to assume that Sydney would set up the same way. A team like Wellington doesn’t need to be played against with a high intensity press; the season so far shows that the Phoenix will simply give you enough opportunities as long as you’re simply solid at the back.
Tip: Draw (2-2)
Melbourne Victory v Gold Coast
Date: Sunday 27th November
Time: 5:00pm EDT (Fox Sports 1)
Location: AAMI Park
Referee: Kris Griffiths Jones
Changes:
Victory
In: Harry Kewell (returns from injury), Isaka Cernak (promoted)
Out: Zaim Zeneli (GK) (omitted), Matthew Kemp (muscle strain)
Unavailable: Tando Velaphi (stress fracture), Grant Brebner (calf), Matthew Foschini (Olyroos)
Gold Coast
In: Tahj Minniecon, Jake Barker-Daish, Daniel Bowles (All Promoted), Ben Halloran (return from knee injury)
Out: N/A
Unavailable: Joel Porter (calf – 4 weeks), Ante Rozic (knee – 3 weeks), Chris Broadfoot (ankle injury – 6 weeks).
Victory’s Talking Point: After the discussion about the Victory on the RickJames SportsCast on Wednesday, there’s not much left to say about their issues heading into their first home game at AAMI Park for the season. Our prediction was that all the drama would unfold quickly; a loss to the Gold Coast would accelerate that ten-fold.
P.S. Just in case it needed to be made extremely obvious, the title of the preview applies to the Victory as well.
Gold Coast’s Talking Point: Despite the performances of the Gold Coast not befitting a bottom of the ladder side, the fact remains that they are looking up at the rest of the competition; three slightly unlucky losses in a row will do that for you.
There’s just something about the way that Bleiberg likes to set up his teams that makes me believe he is licking his lips at facing the shambles that is the Victory side. His aim will be to unsettle whatever attempt at a basic formation the Victory turns out, and he’ll most likely succeed at it. The question is whether the players out on the park will be able to hang with the Victory for the entire 90, or whether it will be a case of the more talented team scratching out a win that probably won’t be deserved.
Biased Tip: Victory (1-0) Unbiased Tip: Draw (1-1)
Twitter: @rickm18.
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