It’s the grand final we’ve been expecting since Christmas: Sydney FC versus Melbourne Victory. But who’s going to take home the golden toilet seat on Sunday? Our final edition of A-League expert tips and predictions has you covered.
Last week was free of any upsets, with the Sky Blues and Victory both comfortably progressing to the season-decider. That saw most of us nab two from two in our tipping, with only Matt and The Crowd erring by tipping Brisbane.
As such, I’ve locked up first position for the season thanks to a two-point buffer over Vas (71). Next up in equal third we have Mike and The Crowd (66), while Janek (62) and Matt (61) have finished back of the pack with one game left.
Of course, that one game left promises to be a ripper; two rivals (and the two best teams all season long) in Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory going head-to-head for the championship.
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 midday (AEST) on Sunday, so make sure you check back after then to see the final results.
So, for the final time this season, let’s get on to the tips!
Mike Tuckerman
Sydney FC
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney. So it all comes down to this. Can Sydney FC handle the pressure? Or will Melbourne Victory spring an upset? The Sky Blues have been the better team all season, beating the Victory three times during the premiership campaign, but a grand final is a different matter altogether.
Expect a tight, tense tussle at a packed Allianz Stadium – with Sydney FC set to narrowly prevail.
Matt Connellan
Sydney FC
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney. What a match this promises to be! Sydney have had the wood on Victory all season, but the boys from Melbourne do have the 2015 grand final thrashing to look back on.
But the Sky Blues are at home, they were clinical against Perth and for me, there’s only one winner: Sydney FC.
Janek Speight
Sydney FC
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney. It’s hard to go past the Sky Blues here. With a stronger defence Sydney should be able to hold off Victory’s dangerous attack enough to give their own potent strike force the opportunity to outscore their opponents.
Vas Venkatramani
Sydney FC
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney FC. After the season they’ve had, what rationale could be used to deny Sydney FC their third championship? Seventeen points separated the Sky Blues from Melbourne Victory in the regular season, and to compound their claim further, Sydney FC won all three fixtures against their rivals by a combined scoreline of 5-2.
From a Victory perspective, that would be evidence enough that they can spring a surprise, having breached Sydney’s goal twice – Besart Berisha’s work will be key to this. Unburdened by expectation, Victory will have licence to throw all caution out, and such an approach may serve them well as long as their defensive duties aren’t neglected.
Sydney FC’s key men have been from one through to 11, clearly evidenced that only one of their players, striker Bobô, figures in the top ten goalscorers chart. The foundation of what would be their most convincing title would come via their defence, conceding only 12 times in 28 games.
The other factor is the state of the pitch – something already bemoaned by the visitors. With a Super Rugby game taking place less than 24 hours before kickoff, possession and pinpointing passes may be hard to execute.
Yet trying to find any reason to deny Sydney FC seems futile, other than the mere schadenfreude all Melburnians would glean should they upstage the best team this season on the biggest day yet.
Sydney FC to win, but Melbourne Victory will have a surprise up their sleeve.
Daniel Jeffrey
Sydney FC
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sydney. The finals have been largely devoid of any surprises so far, and I can’t see anything to suggest that’s going to change this weekend.
The Sky Blues have been the best side this season by some distance, and it’s hard to see them not putting in another clinical display on Sunday. Their defence is more than stout enough to keep the Victory at bay, while their attacking quartet of Bobo, Alex Brosque, Filip Holosko and – most importantly – Milos Ninkovic have the class to open up their opponents.
The Victory are good enough to keep this game a close one, particularly with grand final specialist Besart Berisha leading the line, but Sydney should win a tight contest.
| Grand Final | Mike | Matt | Janek | Vas | Daniel | The Crowd |
| SYD v MVC | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD |
| Last week | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 66 | 61 | 62 | 71 | 73 | 66 |
Griffo
Roar Guru
...and Daniel and The Roar, thanks for the tips post every week for the season. Any possibility of running an individual Roarers list tip post similar next season? I'm not sure my 'predictions' lined up exactly as the rest of The Crowd did at times :lol:
Griffo
Roar Guru
Never say never Caltex ;-) I wouldn't label Sydney as complacent. I wouldn't necessary write off Victory as a mere stage hand for the Sydney FC Grand Final show either. I'm particularly looking forward to the tactical battle between Arnold and Muscat. I wouldn't insult Muscat by saying he will look to wreck Sydney's midfield but he will need to overcome that area while fighting for possession of every ball and second ball in the middle of the park. Then he has to break down their defence and get past Vuković. Victory have a good attacking threat. Their danger is in relying on one or two individuals to score those goals, while for Arnold his defence will have to unravel almost spectacularly for Victory to run away with, well, an unexpected victory in the Grand Final. Good luck to both sets of fans! :mrgreen:
Caltex & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Love your confidence Griffo. Complacency, is the danger and SFC, have to stay focused for 90 min. I remember a FA cup final when the second div underdogs, Sunderland FC, beat the red hot favourite, first division, Leeds United FC.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Sydney FC 3 - 1 Melbourne Victory What pressure? They'll play as they have all season, on a pitch they have had to contend with for a number of weeks now. I'll give Victory a goal, but it could just as easily be yet another clean sheet for Vuković. The only blip on Sydney's season is they don't have the FFA Cup to go along with the Premiership and inevitably Championship.