Take a bow roar of the crowd. Three correct tips in the final round of the competition was an astounding effort in what was an incredibly difficult week to negotiate.
Personally, it was a disaster, with the other experts struggling as well. I predicted a draw in the big blue and, but for Alex Wilkinson’s incredibly long legs, might have taken an early lead in the tipping.
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Wellington shocked City, which confounded everyone, and thinking the Mariners might go out with a bang against the out of form Jets proved correct.
Sadly, it was a different sort of bang to what I was predicting but one hell of a bang it was. So much for the home ground advantage in Perth and the stale draw I predicted at ANZ.
All in all, a complete tipping disaster and Daniel Jeffrey has skipped out to a handy lead with the crowd chasing him home.
AAMI Park hosts both matches this week and let’s hope for two excellent crowds and some real elimination type football; tight, unforgiving yet aggressively seeking a result.
Good luck with your selections and to your team if they are involved, and be sure to insert your tips into the document below to help keep the roar of the crowd hot on Daniel’s heels.
Mike Tuckerman
City, Adelaide
It’s do or die from here on in, with a couple of teams set to bow out after the Elimination Finals.
Do Melbourne City have what it takes to win the A-League? They finished third and registered thirteen wins, but were arguably no more consistent come Round 27 than they were at the start of the season. They had been enjoying an excellent start to 2018 until a run of three straight defeats knocked them off course, and they may find Brisbane Roar a tricky opponent to overcome.
The Roar come into the finals with nothing to lose and plenty of momentum, but will it be enough to see off their erratic hosts? I’m tipping City to win it in a very tight one.
Will City progress to the semis? (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
The other Elimination Final is the eternal grudge match between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United. Victory have flattered to deceive throughout the season, and their midweek AFC Champions League commitment against Shanghai SIPG is the reason for the Sunday evening kick-off.
It might not do much to help Victory here, however, with the Reds one of the form teams going into the finals. I suspect Marco Kurz’s side will see off their bitter rivals and put an end to a frustrating campaign for last year’s grand finalists.
Stuart Thomas
Brisbane, Victory
In the continued spirit of insanity and adventure, I can see John Aloisi’s men making an assault on Melbourne this Friday and stealing the win against the home side. City have been anything but convincing with only ten points taken from their last 24, whereas the Roar have grabbed sixteen in the same period.
I am sticking with the logic of form (always reliable in the A-League of course) and expecting the northerners to shock a few with this result. The reality is that, over the course of the last two months, only Sydney FC have outscored Brisbane – and that must count for something.
It will not be easy with the multiple threats and weapons that City possess and a Daniel Arzani-Bruno Fornaroli assault will test a Brisbane defence that has been leaky at times. A risk I know, but a game in which the Roar will be up to their eyeballs.
There will not be a stunning upset in the other game as Victory deal with Adelaide late Sunday afternoon. The last three months have been good to the Victory and, apart from their continued frustration in finding a way to combat Sydney FC, they have put most to the sword over that period.
The big question will be the continued tensions between Kevin Muscat and the out of form and seemingly out of pace, Besart Berisha. Kosta Barbarouses and Leroy George will give him plenty of chances and, if there was ever a stage for a legend of Australian football to remind us all of his credentials, this might just be the one.
The danger for Melbourne is the youthful and evasive Nikola Mileusnic and ally Ryan Kitto, who have taken major leaps forward this season and become accomplished A-League players. Victory will win with a few hairy moments along the way.
Daniel Jeffrey
City, Adelaide
One or two weeks ago, tipping these two finals would have seemed relatively straightforward. But with both Melbourne teams coming off losses (one expected, one far less so) in the final home-and-away round of the season -and their opponents snatching road wins last weekend – spanners have been added to the works.
For all that, Melbourne City should progress to the second week of the finals. Despite their loss to the Phoenix, City still dominated possession, and registering 19 shots bodes well for them. If they get more than four of them on target this time around, they should be too good for the Roar.
Victory versus Adelaide is a tantalising clash, and no clear favourite is evident. Adelaide’s win last weekend away from home certainly bodes well for them, although they were helped by a controversial intervention from the VAR – is there any other kind?
Melbourne’s loss to Sydney was hardly surprising – it’s going to take something special to beat the Sky Blues at the moment – but a mid-week Asian Champions League match will make things difficult for them here. With United in good enough recent form, I’ll take Adelaide in this one.
Can Adelaide play spoiler against their bitter rival? (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Alan Kearney
Alan’s tips will be included as soon as they’re available
| Round 21 | Mike | Stuart | Daniel | Alan | The Crowd |
| MCY vs BRI | MCY | BRI | MCY | BRI | ? |
| MVC vs ADE | ADE | MVC | ADE | MVC | ? |
| Last week | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Previous Total | 57 | 57 | 61 | 55 | 56 |
| New Total | 58 | 57 | 63 | 55 | 59 |
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