The Roar's A-League expert tips and predictions: Round 3

People are certainly talking football and with more 160,000 attendees over the opening two rounds of fixtures, the A-League has enjoyed a terrific start to the season.

With a long and hot summer of sport slowly building, the FFA Cup final on Tuesday only added to the current interest in the game. Whether it be Usain Bolt, Keisuke Honda, VAR or 14 and a half thousand filling Coopers Stadium on Tuesday, it is great to see the round ball game enjoying some attention.

This weekend will see the Sky Blues struggling to back up physically and emotionally, the Wanderers and Phoenix playing out a crucial clash across the ditch and the Jets and Victory in search of their first wins in a grand final rematch in Newcastle.

The experts can do no better than a 30 per cent success rate at this stage, although the Roar of the Crowd is battling away as well, with just the one correct selection from the opening ten A-League matches.

Here is the way the experts see things playing out in Round 3. Be sure to insert your tips into the tipping form below and have a say in the voice of the crowd. Surely things will play out a little more predictably this week?

Mike Tuckerman
Draw, Wellington, Victory, Perth, Draw
Neither City or Sydney FC have surpassed first gear so far this season, however Sydney FC’s midweek FFA Cup Final defeat will have taken plenty out of them. By rights, City should have enough quality to beat the Sky Blues on their own patch, but I suspect the visitors will dig in for a point.

Wellington Phoenix look like they’ll be tough to beat this season, not least because of their defensive set-up. They rely heavily on Roy Krishna for inspiration, but the Fijian flyer should cause more than enough headaches for a Wanderers side that looks a little bit lost right now.

Can Melbourne Victory finally conjure a win in this grand final rematch? They certainly need one. They’ll face a hostile Novocastrian crowd in the Hunter, but Keisuke Honda is itching to prove himself a game-winner, and he may well do so here.

Perth Glory got a little lucky in beating Melbourne Victory last weekend, but that won’t bother coach Tony Popovic. Despite signing a host of big-name defenders there is still a vulnerability at the back and the Glory should have enough firepower to beat a Brisbane Roar side still trying to find some form.

The Mariners are due a win, and they’ll have no better opportunity than taking on Adelaide United still celebrating their FFA Cup victory. Whilst Ross McCormack should score his fair share of tap-ins this season, the Gosford outfit still look frail in defence. This one could finish all square on Sunday afternoon.

Stuart Thomas
City, Wellington, Newcastle, Brisbane, draw
Sydney have the horrific task of playing three matches in six days. Combined with the disappointment of losing the FFA Cup to Adelaide on Tuesday, it makes a successful trip to AAMI Park highly unlikely. Wellington and Western Sydney have played out some wild and wacky encounters over the years and this will be no different.

This clash always throws up some drama. Phoenix will take all three points and stay equal top after City’s win on Friday.

The loser of the Jets and Victory match in the Hunter on Saturday night will start to feel the pressure from above them on the ladder. Three points to either would kick start their season and Ernie Merrick and Kevin Muscat will be asking for a polished and committed performance from their respective clubs.

Newcastle should get the points thanks to the home ground advantage that McDonald Jones Stadium provides.

I am tipping an away victory for the Roar in Perth late Saturday, based purely on the fact that they have played well without finding a high gear so far this season. It must surely happen at some point and after two draws, Brisbane should chalk up its first win of the season in the west.
Adelaide will be buoyant after its FFA Cup triumph, yet will face the defensively improved and resilient Mariners in Gosford on Sunday. Adelaide look as though they may struggle to score this season, despite Craig Goodwin’s heroics on Tuesday and the Mariners are proving very difficult to break down. That suggests a tight contest and a likely draw.

Paul Nicholls
City, Wellington, Newcastle, Draw, Adelaide
If ever Melbourne City were going to knock over Sydney FC then it will surely be this Friday night. With their third game in a week, Sydney will struggle, particularly with that FFA Cup final loss on their minds.

Did you notice Wellington Phoenix’s coach Mark Rudan post-match shirt-front of Ross Aloisi last week? That example of steeliness is rubbing off on the least loved lads of the league. Western Sydney Wanderers will have had some advertising hoardings set up for their strikers at training to follow (suspended) coach Markus Babbel’s lead. At least he showed some passion. Wellington’s steel to triumph over the Wanderers’ angst.

Melbourne Victory’s calamitous start to the season has had coach Kevin Muscat tearing his hair out. Ernie Merrick’s Newcastle looked more settled last week and should extract revenge for last year’s grand final defeat.

It will be a good battle in the west between Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar. Perth’s Andy Keogh is in hot form whereas Roar’s gun Adam Taggart is hot and cold. Brisbane to snatch a point.

Did I not say last week how valuable Craig Goodwin might prove for Adelaide? Did anyone listen? The Reds to build on the FFA Cup momentum and take all three points from Central Coast.

Evan Morgan Grahame
Sydney, Draw,Victory, Perth, Draw
Melbourne City’s draw with Central Coast was a sluggish affair. Warren Joyce’s belated and conservative substitutions, the impotence of out-of-position Harrison Delbridge, and a general reluctance to alter tactics, all contributed to them giving up two points. Will this change against the premiers? Sydney have looked great in their last two games, even during Tuesday’s loss in the FFA Cup final. Daniel De Silva may be fit enough to start for the Sky Blues: another weapon to wield. Sydney to win.

Shaking off entrenched assumptions about how bad the Phoenix are remains an unintuitive exercise. They are unbeaten over the first two games, and have given every impression that a new leaf has been turned under Mark Rudan. The Marcus Babbel-less Wanderers will be a test for them, assuming they play like they did in the derby. Alexander Baumjohann has been slicing and dicing from the No.10 spot for the Wanderers, and will be a threat Wellington must address. A draw.

Newcastle and Melbourne Victory have both started slowly this season. The late loss to Perth ruined what would have been a perfect ship-steadier for Melbourne. At 0-2 down, the fight back was a fiery show of spirit. The late concession doused all that, with Kevin Muscat’s team still looking for its first points. The Jets, however, are just as bogged, blunt up front and a little under cooked. Melbourne to win.

The sample size is tiny, of course, but Brisbane have the worst shot-conversion rate in the league (4.00%), rivalled only by the Wanderers (5.30%). Brisbane has crafted opportunities, good ones, but not been able to convert them. This will probably change at some point – Adam Taggart is no dud – and it might against Perth.

The westerners can score goals, the most in the league over the first two games, in fact. Perth, in Perth, to win.

Off the back of a wonderful FFA Cup triumph, this fixture feels like it could catch the tail end of the post-victory hangover. Central Coast are a weird lot; Connor Pain is putting together a fine attacking season, and Kalifa Cisse looks an excellent, rugged defender.

Will Adelaide use the Cup win to catalyse what has otherwise been a ho-hum start? Or will they come in against a supposedly weak opponent with minds still giddily rolling through memories of Tuesday? A draw.