The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Match Week 15

It is wonderful to have A-League matches on our screens near every day of the week yet seriously, my head is spinning! The flood of games, short turnarounds and the usual unpredictability of the competition continues to be a nightmare for the tipping panel and the voice of the crowd has also taken a hit in recent weeks.

Mike Tuckerman did best of all last week with a few predicted draws helping his cause and this coming week of action will no doubt test him and the other members of the panel all over again.

It is another busy week for Melbourne City with Adelaide and Newcastle in the crosshairs, Wellington will again look to defy the odds and survive an appalling schedule with fixtures against the in-form Roar and Sydney FC, whilst Melbourne Victory and Central Coast have chances to right the ship after a disappointing week for both, where points were allowed to slip away after appearing likely to be secured.

Good luck with all your selections and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say as the struggling voice of the crowd. Here is the way the panel sees all the action unfolding over the course of the next six days.

Mike Tuckerman
City, Brisbane, Western Sydney, City, Sydney, Draw, Draw, United, Brisbane

Melbourne City turned on the style to down the Wanderers last time out. They’ve got the firepower to rattle any opponent and they should have too much class for the Reds.

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Wellington Phoenix, who desperately need to get back home to New Zealand. They’re a tough side to beat but the Roar might just nick this.

If there’s one thing Mark Rudan will do, it’s restore a bit of pride in the Wanderers jersey. His team still look patchy in places but I’m tipping they can upset Tony Popovic’s visitors. I backed the Jets to spring an upset against Melbourne City the other night. I won’t make that same mistake again.

One positive in the A-Leagues are the storyline’s developing between coaches, and Ufuk Talay will want to put his best foot forward against the Sky Blues. I suspect it’ll be Steve Corica who claims all three points though.

Are Macarthur still a decent football team? They never got out of first gear against the Roar and look like they’re stuck in a rut. Adelaide continue to surprise and should take a point from this trip to southwestern Sydney.

The games are coming thick and fast for every club and Victory are another side under the pump. Ordinarily I’d expect them to beat the Mariners but with so many games in their legs, this could finish all square.

John Aloisi has quietly turned Western United into one of the toughest teams to beat in the league. Mark Rudan would love to get one over his former club but it should be the hosts who win this one.

Perth Glory have been as big a victim of this COVID-plagued season as anyone. They’ll probably appreciate the hit-out against Brisbane Roar but I expect the latter to claim all three points.

Simon Hill
City, Wellington, Victory, City, Sydney, Macarthur, Victory, Draw, TBC

Stuart Thomas
City, Brisbane, Victory, City, Sydney, Macarthur, Victory, United, Brisbane

Melbourne City have moved to second on the ladder and with Mathew Leckie scoring freely, their firepower may well make defeating them extremely unlikely in the near future. Adelaide will, as always, have a serious crack, yet the men in blue should have this one in the bag early on. Wellington and Brisbane all of a sudden look like two promising teams. Another win for Brisbane will see them charging up the ladder and Wellington deep within the six should they manage it. I’ll tip Brisbane based on nothing more than the Phoenix’s busy schedule.

Melbourne Victory will bounce back from a loss against the still disappointing Western Sydney on Wednesday, before City secures its second win of the week against a Newcastle team now eyeing off 6th spot on the ladder. This could be a tight one and any fatigue in the City legs will see them in trouble.

Wellington will be utterly exhausted by the time they make it to Saturday’s fixture with Sydney FC and will be beaten accordingly by a well-rested and now confident Sky Blues, Macarthur desperately need a win to get back on track and should do so at home against what could be a slightly fatigued Reds and Saturday night’s other fixture between the Victory and Mariners looks like being an absolute cracker.

It is tough to call and Central Coast will be furious at the four points let slip last week. Victory for me in a high scoring affair.

Oliver Bozanic on the ball. (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

Western United will be looking to extend their lead at the top pf the ladder against the Wanderers on Sunday and should do so by a single goal and some typically stodgy defence, before the match week rounds out with bottom of the ladder Perth looking to topple the improving Roar. Brisbane look good things in this one, especially after the lucky and mostly undeserved point grabbed by the Glory against the Mariners on Sunday.

Texi Smith
City, Wellington, Victory, City, Sydney, Macarthur, Central Coast, United, Perth

Melbourne City have hit their straps after a mid-season treading of water. Even Mathew Leckie is scoring now. With their juicy front three making Florin Berenguer look good and with attacking flair ready to run riot from the bench, this is where we might see the reigning premiers flex their muscles. Always tricky to tell what Adelaide have up their sleeve though, Craig Goodwin can always produce something from nothing like the magician he is. I’d love to see it here, but City to be too strong.

Wellingong’s new home at Leichhardt Oval will be anything but rocking on Wednesday as Brisbane come to town in an afternoon kick off. They’ll be smarting from the last minute equaliser on the weekend that denied them an important win, while Brisbane will be thinking the tide has turned and the good times are back.

The pattern of win followed by defeat will continue for the Roar, Nikola Mileusnic on target once again, but Jaushua Sotirio’s strength and direct running will see the Phoenix triumph in a surprisingly comfortable ‘home’ win.

If I was a Wanderers fan I’d be livid at the moment. The best stadium in the league and some of the worst football; I’d turned over to watch the end of the women’s game once they were 3-0 down in their last game with Melbourne City so I missed perhaps a slight spark back to life towards the end.

Victory will be licking their wounds after losing at home to Newcastle; even with ten men they should have negotiated the second half and they will be fired up for this game in Parramatta. A fixture that would have drawn a full house in the past will have a paltry crowd to see Wanderers undone by an abject first half performance that sees them booed off the field at the break. Dark times in Western Sydney.

All of a sudden the Jets like playing in Melbourne. They pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat at AAMI Park last week, thanks to a classy finish from Valentino Yuel and a comically invented penalty that conned the officials. They’re getting street smart. And they’ll fancy their chances against the powerhouse of Australian football back at the same venue. However, this is like a purring jaguar up against an unpredictable wild cat – if City get an opportunity to get moving, they will simply crush the Jets. I fear this might be such an occasion and Jamie Maclaren will be ruthless this time out, a punch-drunk defence unable to stop the juggernaut.

Wellington Phoenix at home again at Leichhardt Oval. I’d love to see the Cove displaced and have to congregate at the other end of the stadium in a fenced off part of the ancient terracing, just to make it like an away game. Otherwise this is simply another home game for Sydney FC at a venue where they’re enjoying success.

If Adrian Caceres is back and we see a glimpse of Kosta Barbarouses, Sydney FC should be too strong for the Phoenix, but there’s always a chance that Sydney will waste their possession and cough up a sloppy goal or two on the break. Heart says Sydney FC, head says draw, but it’s Valentine’s Day so let’s go with the heart and a Mustafa Amini inspired win by the odd goal.

For a team that was flying at the start of the season, boasting a monster of a defence and plenty of flair, Macarthur look incredibly brittle at the moment. Adelaide have proven time and again that they can match it with the best. This weekend though will see a return to form for the home team, and with the Iberian midfield of the visitors unable to cope with Daniel De Silva and Ulises Davila, we’ll see the Bulls that we glimpsed late last year.

For the FFA Cup final rematch the X-Factor Jason Cummings will be on the field instead of in the stands and we’ll see a Mariners team more willing to go forward in numbers.

This should be another classic, and with Chris Ikonomidis and Nick D’Agostino still not able to earn a starting spot, they’ll watch on as Mariners come up with a big first half performance and two goals.

By the time the cavalry enters the battle, Victory will be too far behind and their late fightback will be in vain. A shock home defeat for Tony Popovic and a tough one to take.

Western United were fabulous against Sydney FC last weekend and were denied a win by the beauty of VAR. Their passing, movement and invention was excellent, and they have the chance to beat the Wanderers for a second time in two weeks.

That last time saw Aleks Prijovic plough a lone furrow up front, but this time they will have a more attacking line-up and Dylan Pierias will offer a much more direct route into the penalty area. The defence of Ziggy Gordon and Johnny Koutroumbis will be swamped again and even though the Wanderers will play with abandon under the stewardship of their new manager, United will win without conceding.

The mystery game. Perth Glory against Brisbane Roar. We know it’s on. We don’t know where or when. It’s a game that will sneak up on us and surprise us; all of a sudden we’ll be watching Daniel Sturridge come up against Scott Neville when we thought the weekend was over. The Perth players will be used to this by now, and they will be ready to play anyone anywhere. And with Daniel Stynes starting to show his worth, this is a game that Perth cannot lose.