It almost seems like a light A-League week with just seven matches slated across five days, yet the importance of the fixtures cannot be underestimated.
Adelaide and Western Sydney will do battle twice, a Melbourne Derby heads the bill and Sydney FC faces the acid test against Western United on Saturday night.
Elsewhere, the Mariners and Macarthur do battle whilst Perth Glory need a win against Brisbane Roar if they still hope to sneak into the top six with a late season run.
Good luck with your tips and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say in the ever improving voice of The Crowd. Here is the way the panel sees all the action unfolding over the next five days.
Mike Tuckerman
Adelaide, Newcastle, Draw, Sydney, City, Brisbane, Western Sydney
On paper this game looks pretty cut and dried, with the Reds one of the form teams in the competition. They go into this game on the back of a three-game winning streak, while the Wanderers were disappointing in their loss to Macarthur. I suspect this will be closer than the form guide suggests, but it’s hard to tip against the home team.
It’s now or never for the Jets, who’ve twice conceded late in their latest three-game losing streak. The Novocastrians play entertaining football under Arthur Papas but there’s no denying they lack a bit of resilience. The positive for the Jets is that they’ll come up against an undermanned Wellington here. This is Newcastle’s game to lose.
(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Macarthur’s 3-1 win over the Wanderers continued their recent trajectory of being the most difficult team in the league to pick. They’ve got plenty of match winners in their midst, but it’s getting them to fire in sync that has proven the problem for Ante Milicic. One question that deserves to be asked is around their away form. The Bulls aren’t the best of travellers, so this one could finish all square.
Have Sydney FC shaken off their recent form slump? The 2-0 win in Perth was desperately needed, but they face a punishing run of fixtures over the weeks ahead. The Sky Blues will be desperate to record another much-needed three points against John Aloisi’s men, but this is a tricky fixture. I’ll back the home team in Kogarah but not with any real confidence.
On their day, Melbourne City look capable of beating anyone in the league. Unfortunately for Paddy Kisnorbo, those days have been few and far between this season. City went two goals down before fighting back to draw 2-2 with Western United last time out and Kisnorbo will want his side to avoid a similar slow start against a Victory outfit that could be coming in off an AFC Champions League hangover.
Brisbane Roar are second from bottom in the standings. They need to win games like this one against bottom club Perth Glory if they’re to have any hope of playing finals football, however Warren Moon’s men have arguably been the most inconsistent side in the league all season.
The Roar’s win over Wellington was just their fourth of the campaign, but I reckon the visitors may have just enough in the tank to spring an upset at HBF Park.
Time is running out for the Western Sydney Wanderers to make a run to the finals. They’ll be disappointed with the manner of their 3-1 defeat to local rivals Macarthur and Mark Rudan will expect a reaction from his side here.
Adelaide United are a real bogey side for most teams this season and the Reds won’t be wanting for passion on this visit to Parramatta. This will likely be a fiery affair, but I suspect the Wanderers might just snatch it.
Simon Hill
Adelaide, Newcastle, Macarthur, Draw, Draw, Perth, Western Sydney
Stuart Thomas
Adelaide, Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney, City, Perth, Adelaide
The Reds continue to defy the doubters and did so yet again with a late winner last week. No one is convinced of the Wanderers’ consistency at this stage of the season and on the road, they will falter against a confident Adelaide unit.
I am tipping a shock win for the Jets against the Phoenix on Friday night.
Wellington fell to the Roar disappointingly last weekend and the Jets hung in resolutely against the Reds on the road. It is based on gut feel alone, but I’ll go with it.
Central Coast at home to Macarthur is a mighty tough one to tip, yet I’ll jump on the Mariners wagon for this one.
The tough schedule now done, a return to early season form appears likely and the Bulls do not travel too well.
I’ve rarely tipped Sydney FC this season but will do so in their clash with Western United. As good as the visitors have been, Sydney are starting to show a bit and the home deck will be the difference. No home deck advantage in the Melbourne Derby, but City will be far too strong based on their current form.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Perth need a win and could well get one against a Brisbane side yet to convince fans they are a team to be reckoned with. It will be tight, but desperation and the home advantage will get the Glory boys a vital three points.
The final match of the round is the rematch between the Wanderers and Reds in Sydney. It all seems a bit silly really and there is little reason to think any differently about this clash than the one a few days earlier.
Texi Smith
Adelaide, Newcastle, Macarthur, United, Victory, Perth, Western Sydney
The 2021-22 A-League season is shaping up for a fabulous run in to the finals. Once all teams get close to the same games played, we’ll see some teams currently in false positions take a hit and some in the top six should be very worried already.
The first part of a two-legged affair, the first game during the week, the second on the weekend, evokes the exciting memories of promotion play-off semi-finals in the English Football League.
The stakes are high for both teams: Wanderers need some momentum to mount a top-six assault, while Adelaide are balancing on the edge of cracking the top two or being reeled in by those behind. Hiroshi Ibusuki will be the spark, a constant thorn in the visitors’ side and Mo Toure will come off the bench to push the home team to victory in a tense game.
The last time the Jets and Phoenix met, all of two weeks ago, we had a five-goal thriller in Gosford. Wellington travel that little bit further up the coast to take on Newcastle on their own patch this time and we will get a game of similar traits.
Silky build up from the Jets, hard-running counter-attacks from the visitors. Walter Sandoval will score in the opening stages to blast the game open, and we’ll see increasing pressure from the Jets soon after. Daniel Penha and Angus Thurgate will snatch goals late in the game to turn it on its head, an important win that closes the gap on Phoenix and brings the Jets back into finals contention.
Macarthur flexed their muscles in their win against the Wanderers last week, and they will find the Mariners in uncompromising mood at Central Coast Stadium, as they try to get back to winning ways. The obvious class of the visitors will be boosted if Daniel De Silva returns and this could be a dark day for the home side.
The usually reliable Ollie Bozanic will see red, Jason Cummings will be marked out of the game and Macarthur will strike twice; Tommy Uskok scoring the pick of the goals with a 30-yarder into the top corner.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
For all those who couldn’t see Sydney FC winning another game all season under Steve Corica’s tired and unimaginative guidance, the victory in Perth was dedicated to you. Western United were looking good against the reigning champions Melbourne City for a long while until their luck ran out and they had to settle for a point.
The heart says a Milos Ninkovic-inspired Sydney FC win in this one, but the gulf in class will be evident as Robert Krihn and Dylan Pierias carve up the Sky Blues down the flanks and the home team is left chasing the game. Serial pest Connor Pain and equally fizzy player Dylan Wenzel-Halls will be introduced late on to put the game to bed, an embarrassing home thrashing for the once-mighty Sydney FC.
The perfect Saturday night’s entertainment at AAMI Park will give City a chance to assert their dominance over local rivals Victory. An early goal from Nishan Velupillay will create an unusual atmosphere and City will be panicked into pushing forward.
When Ben Folami finishes off a flowing move to make it 2-0 to Victory, the alarm bells will be sounding in the City camp. Try as they might, the resolute Victory defence will hold firm for a famous victory in a special derby event.
Perth Glory have been stinking of late and that is why they now find themselves on the bottom of the table. Brisbane Roar’s travel sickness though will allow Perth to overcome their injury woes and put in the performance that we’ve all known they’re capable of.
Bruno Fornaroli’s thunderous volley will open the scoring and by the time Daniel Stynes rolls the ball home in the final minute, the win will have been handsomely secured; a solitary Jay O’Shea strike the only glimmer of hope for the Roar. Brisbane back in the basement.
The second leg of Wanderers-Adelaide on Sunday night will be as exciting as they come, despite being played in front of a pitiful crowd. Bernie Ibini’s direct running will have the Wanderers in control in the first half; Adelaide struggling to find time on the ball thanks to the eager pressing of the home team.
A big second half of pressure from the visitors will see the pendulum swing and it will take a Keanu Baccus wonder-goal to settle the result in the last five minutes. With Craig Goodwin shackled well, Adelaide will meekly surrender and their top-six contention will be under a cloud.
| Match Week 19 | Mike | Simon | Stuart | Texi | The Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADL vs WSW | ADL | ADL | ADL | ADL | ? |
| NEW vs WEL | NEW | NEW | NEW | NEW | ? |
| CCM vs MAC | DRAW | MAC | CCM | MAC | ? |
| SYD vs WUN | SYD | DRAW | SYD | WUN | ? |
| MCY vs MVC | MCY | DRAW | MCY | MVC | ? |
| PER vs BRI | BRI | PER | PER | PER | ? |
| WSW vs ADL | WSW | WSW | ADL | WSW | ? |
| Previous total | 33 | 31 | 36 | 40 | 35 |
| Last week | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| New total | 40 | 36 | 40 | 46 | 40 |
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