Only Daniel Jeffrey and the Crowd managed three successful tips last week in what was a challenging round. This week sees a few more curve balls out there for the panel with which to grapple and in among it all, a Socceroos match.
Good luck with your tips and don’t forget to put them into the form below to have your say. Here is how the experts are seeing things shaping up this week.
Mike Tuckerman
Sydney, Newcastle, draw, Perth, City
Who’d be a tipster, huh? One thing you can’t say about the A-League is that it’s predictable!
Round 6 kicks off with a genuinely fascinating looking clash between the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC in Gosford.
On paper it should be a Sydney FC win – and that’s what I’m tipping – but the Mariners have shown more than enough this season to suggest they could upset plenty of more fancied sides.
This could be a tricky fixture for the Sky Blues, but they should come away with the three points.
Adelaide’s injury crisis shows no signs of abating. Will that be enough for Newcastle to claim an away win? I’m tipping it will. Meanwhile, Saturday night’s big free-to-air match-up sees Melbourne Victory host Brisbane Roar at Etihad Stadium.
Neither side has shown anywhere near the best form this season, and that means this one could finish all square at the cavernous venue.
Sunday’s games should see Perth Glory take the three points on the road at Westpac Stadium against Wellington Phoenix, while Melbourne City will prove too strong for Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park in the evening clash. Just don’t take my word for it…
Daniel Jeffrey
Sydney, Newcastle, Victory, Draw, City
Sydney FC started last round off with a Friday-night win, and there’s not much (or any) doubt that they’ll repeat the feat this week. They might be on the road once again, but Central Coast should pose no problems for the ladder leaders.
Adelaide are back at home after a road loss in Perth, but I’m not sure it’ll lead to a win for United. Newcastle are undefeated and fresh off putting three goals past the Phoenix, and they deserve favouritism in this one.
The Saturday night game is a tough one to pick if only because both sides have been so thoroughly disappointing this season. Melbourne showed signs of improvement against the Wanderers and that’s enough for me to tip them to grab their first win of the year – although this isn’t the first time this year I’ve thought they have on the verge of breaking their duck. As for Brisbane, the pressure will only continue to mount on John Aloisi.
(AAP Image/David Crosling)
I tend to side with the home team whenever the Distance Derby comes around, but given Wellington’s poor form I won’t be tipping the Phoenix this time around. That said, Perth have dropped points each time they’ve been on the road this season, so I’ll sit myself on the fence for this one.
Melbourne City should finish off the round with a win at home against the Wanderers in a game that will be worth watching to see the immediate impact Josep Gombau has on Western Sydney. Even with their new coach at the helm, the Wanderers will be up against it against the in-form City.
Alan Kearney
Sydney, Newcastle, Victory, Perth, Draw
The Mariners played out a rather dour draw against Brisbane last week while Sydney had a big result away to Melbourne City. Central Coast created some good opportunities but a worrying trend continued and they lacked the killer instinct to put Brisbane away. Still without a win and I can’t see that changing this week when they entertain Sydney.
Although Sydney’s game last week against Melbourne City won’t go down as a classic the champions did what good teams do and found a way to win. Sydney to continue their strong start me.
Adelaide conceded a late goal away to Perth last week to lose 1-0 and in truth it could have been more if it wasn’t for the heroics of Paul Izzo. The Adelaide number one will need to be on his game again this week as the Reds welcome the high flying Newcastle Jets into town.
The Jets were very impressive against the lacklustre Wellington Phoenix and the inform Roy O’Donovan took his goal tally to seven for the season. Dimi Petratos was instrumental in everything good about Newcastle last week and Adelaide will need to find a way to stop him. Newcastle have too much momentum and Adelaide too many key injuries.
Five games in and winless for both sides makes this game such an important one. Victory have not been great so far but to their credit they showed real courage to get back into Monday night’s game after falling behind and going down to 10 men.
They welcome back Besart Berisha this week and he will be itching to get his team up and running by heaping more misery on his previous employers. Brisbane have been poor so far and lack any sort of connection in their team and it shows in the performances they are producing.
(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Surely the Nix can’t produce a performance as bad as the one they came up with last week? In possession they showed a lack of sharpness and the tempo was far too slow, without the ball they were just as bad losing every second ball and not closing down with any enthusiasm or intent.
All of that combined contributed to a horror show performance and they will be hoping that being at home this week can spark a reaction. Perth will be full of confidence after their late winner but have been poor away from home so far this season. I still feel they will have enough to get their first win away from home against an out of sorts Nix side.
WSW will be kicking themselves for not taking advantage of a ten man Melbourne Victory last week while City will be looking to get back to winning ways after their narrow loss to Sydney FC.
The foreign players for WSW impressed on Monday night especially Jumpei and Llorente who showed real signs of class and they will look to them once more to make the difference. City flew out of the blocks winning four games on the spin and last week’s performance and result would have hurt the squad, with people now questioning if they are the real deal.
I am expecting a City backlash but it’s really tough to call so I will sit on the fence for this one.
Stuart Thomas
Sydney, Newcastle, Victory, Perth, City
Last season the Mariners pushed Sydney hard in the corresponding fixture on a warm day at Gosford. This is always a good contest and it will be no different on Friday night. The Mariners have shown so many positives this season and look a better side on the park than where they sit on the ladder.
Being good enough to knock of the champions is another thing and despite jumping off the sky blues last week and picking a draw, I see them winning this one at Central Coast Stadium.
With Adelaide still ravaged by injury, they will once again struggle to find a win on Saturday afternoon at Coopers Stadium. The Jets are the hottest team in the competition right now and will continue their run. The Reds will look to instil some patience into their fans who must be getting frustrated with effort not converting into points. When at full strength, Adelaide would be right in this but not up against a rolling Newcastle with a point to prove.
This is the week everyone, the week when Kevin Muscat’s men finally chalk up the victory they have been seeking. After the stunning comeback point against the Wanderers on Monday night, the confidence they have gained will be enough to overcome the short turn around and the home fans will be out in force to lift the locals from their lowly position on the ladder. Sadly, this will mean a continuation of poor fortune for Brisbane, who are yet to find rhythm, especially moving in transition.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
In a tough encounter to pick, Perth travel to Wellington and look to chalk up a second win on the trot against a Phoenix team that was very poor last week. For Perth, this could be a firm step into a solid position in the top six and a real boost for their hopeful fans.
For Wellington it may start to look ugly if they cannot find a little more than they did last week. For the competitions sake and the tightness of the ladder it might be best to hope for a Nix win, however, Perth will prove too strong as their confidence starts to build.
Recent form makes the final game of the round a tough one to line up with mixed results now littering the draw. Melbourne City met their match against Sydney last week and Western Sydney failed to close out an almost certain three points against Victory after a missed penalty and a poor second half.
The Wanderers have suffered from this all season and if they continue the pattern, City will win this game in the second period. City will look to regain their winning ways and should do so in what could be a fiery clash.
| Round 6 | Mike | Stuart | Daniel | Alan | The Crowd |
| CCM vs SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD? |
| ADL vs NEW | NEW | NEW | NEW | NEW | NEW |
| MVC vs BRI | DRAW | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC |
| WEL vs PER | PER | PER | DRAW | PER | WEL |
| MCY vs WSW | MCY | MCY | MCY | DRAW | MCY |
| Last week | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Previous Total | 12 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| New Total | 13 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 11 |
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