A-League fans are in for a bevvy of footballing action over the Christmas and New Year’s period, starting with Round 12. As always, we’ve got you covered for all your expert tipping needs.
Last week provided a few roadblocks for our panel, with the Wanderers’ draw in New Zealand catching everyone out, and Besart Berisha’s match-winning performance tripping up half of our panel.
In the end, a round-best four correct tips from your humble author saw me extend my lead at the top of the table to five points, with the trailing pack comprising Vas (26 points) in second, The Crowd (25) and Mike and Matt (24 each). Janek is closing the gap, now on 18 points.
This week sees Brisbane kick things off at home against Western Sydney, followed by a Boxing Day double-header of Newcastle hosting Wellington and Adelaide welcoming the table-topping Sky Blues to Hindmarsh Stadium.
Melbourne City then host the out-of-sorts Perth on Tuesday, before their cross-town rivals the Victory wrap things up on Wednesday against the Mariners.
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 2pm (AEDT) on Friday, so make sure you check back after then to see the final results.
On to the tips!
Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Roar. The home side should prove too strong against a far from settled Wanderers, with the Roar chasing their third straight win.
Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix
Jets. Newcastle are on a roll, and with a big Boxing Day crowd set to turn out in the Hunter, they’ll go in as favourites against the erratic Kiwis.
Adelaide United vs Sydney FC
Sydney. Whisper it quietly, but time is running out for Adelaide to launch their season. They won’t start here, with the Sky Blues in red-hot form.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
City. Both teams have flattered to deceive this season, and both are coming off last-start defeats. City could nick it here in this midweek holiday encounter.
Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners
Victory. Buoyed by a hard-fought derby win last time out, the home side should have enough to see off a surprisingly resilient Mariners at AAMI Park.
Brisbane Roar, Wellington Phoenix, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Brisbane. Jamie Maclaren against the Wanderers’ shaky defence? Brisbane, Brisbane, Brisbane.
Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix
Wellington. Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler appear to have found their feet, and I think they’ll be too much for Newcastle, despite the home side’s recent run of good form.
Adelaide United vs Sydney FC
Sydney. The Reds took the first points off Sydney when they picked up a draw at Allianz a few weeks ago, but they don’t appear to have improved much. Sydney meanwhile are still unbeaten, and that run won’t end here.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
City. Perth are in shocking form, so what better way to end that run than by visiting Bruno Fornaroli and co? Yeah, City for me.
Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners
Melbourne. The Victory at home to the Mariners is surely a no brainer. Victory, but watch the Mariners go and make a mockery of this tip!
Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Brisbane. The Roar are back to winning ways after a series of stalemates and the Wanderers continue to struggle despite showing promise. Brisbane to make it three wins in a row.
Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix
Newcastle. Having been pessimistic about the Jets’ chances this season given the abrupt coaching change and a number of injuries, it’s time for that to change. Three consecutive wins would really set them on the path for a finals push, although though now I’ve tipped them…
Adelaide United vs Sydney FC
Sydney. I’m still awaiting the inevitable Reds resurgence, but their finishing is off, they’re conceding soft goals and Sydney are next. Hard to go past the Sky Blues extending their unbeaten run, though Adelaide are due a complete performance.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
City. Perth have shipped six goals in two games and have only claimed all three points once in their last eight games.
Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners
Victory. The win over City pushed them above their local rivals, now the Victory will be determined to reel in Sydney FC.
Brisbane Roar, Draw, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Brisbane. The Roar are looking pretty good at the moment, and they should be too strong at home for a Wanderers’ outfit which is still struggling to find any kind of consistency.
Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix
Newcastle. The Jets have been the surprise packets of the competition this year, while Wellington haven’t really hit their straps all season. I’ll take the home side in this one.
Adelaide United vs Sydney FC
Sydney. The predictions that Adelaide would kick on from their first win of the year a la 2015-16 were off the mark. While they’re bound to improve eventually, Sydney have been too good this year to suggest this will be the game for the Reds to begin their surge up the table.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
City. Were it not for Besart Berisha, City would have been sharing in the points from the Melbourne derby last week. They may have come away from that game with a loss, but against a Perth side which is seriously struggling at the moment, City should have few problems.
Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners
Victory. The easiest tip of the round, for mine (although what are the odds I end up regretting typing that as much as I will overeating during Christmas?). Still, they should have no troubles with the Mariners.
| Round 12 | Mike | Matt | Janek | Vas | Daniel | The Crowd |
| BRI v WSW | BRI | BRI | BRI | BRI | BRI | BRI |
| NEW v WEL | NEW | WEL | NEW | Draw | NEW | NEW |
| ADL v SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD |
| MLC v PER | MLC | MLC | MLC | MLC | MLC | MLC |
| MVC v CCM | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC |
| Last week | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 25 |
Well, The Crowd’s tips are in for another week and more than 80 per cent of Roarers reckon Brisbane will get the better of the Wanderers. The Jets have been tipped against the Phoenix, and Sydney FC have been given the edge despite being on the road against Adelaide. In the final two games, both Melbourne teams have been tipped to get the better of their respective opponents.
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