Former NSL goalkeeper Andrew Prentice skipped clear of the panel and the fans in Round 2 tipping, securing five successful tips from six, with only the Western Sydney Wanderers blotting his card.

However, things get a little trickier this week, with at least four of the matches slated looking very unpredictable and likely to shake up the tipping ladder come Monday morning.

The weekend is anchored around a massive Melbourne derby when Victory host City. Be sure to tune in to The Roar at 7.45pm (AEDT) on Saturday night for a live call of all the action.

Good luck with your tips for the round, and don’t forget to enter them in the sheet below to have your say as part of the roar of the crowd.

Here is the way the panel sees all the Round 3 action unfolding.

Mike Tuckerman

Macarthur, draw, Western Sydney, Victory, Sydney, Central Coast

It’s the tipster’s lament, but after changing a couple of tips at the last second last week – both of which naturally ended up as the result of my original tip – I’m not going to make the same mistake again. The Bulls should down Western United, mainly because Daniel Arzani is in form and Leo Lacroix is resolutely not.

I always figure, mathematically speaking, there has to be a draw. This fixture looks like the most likely candidate, even if the Jets did pull a win out of the fire last time out. I literally just changed my tip from a Jets win on this one.

I’m not sure you could claim Marko Rudan has got the Wanderers purring, but he has at least made them much tougher to beat. The Roar look like a rabble even at this early stage of the season. This one’s a home banker.

The derby is the game of the round without a doubt, and it sounds like it’s going to be a sellout at AAMI Park. Victory were served a lesson by the Wanderers last weekend, and they’ll be all the better for it. City had little to do in downing the Roar, but the derby’s a different story. This one will be a cracker, and I’m tipping Tony Popovic’s team to edge it.

Robert Mak! Joe Lolley! My fantasy team! Aside from being stupid enough not to select either player, this season has started pretty much the way I expected for the Sky Blues. Both Mak and Lolley are too good not to have an impact in the A-League, and while the Reds always fire up for the visit to Sydney, the new stadium should help get Steve Corica’s men over the line.

Will Perth Glory win a game this year? This one’s probably the fixture to do it in. Though I’m still backing the Mariners.

(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Stuart Thomas

United, Newcastle, Western Sydney, Victory, Adelaide, Central Coast

The season has not begun too well for champions Western United, and Macarthur FC have also looked a little clunky at times across the opening two rounds. That makes for a tough pick. United to get their first win of the season to launch off the bottom of the ladder.

Newcastle will beat the Phoenix on Saturday afternoon off the back of a ripping crowd that will send the home team to near the top of the table, and Melbourne Victory will bounce back after a disappointing effort against the Wanderers last week to claim the win in the prime-time Melbourne derby on Saturday night.

In the Saturday twilight it’s difficult to see anything but the Wanderers firing up at home against the worst team in the A-League right now, Brisbane Roar, while in the balmy sun on a glorious Sunday afternoon in Sydney the Reds will shock the locals with a convincing win on the road.

That leaves just the intriguing and tough-to-read clash between the struggling Glory and winless Central Coast. It looks like a must-win match for Perth, yet the Mariners showed signs against the Phoenix that they could once again be far better than some pundits suggest. I rarely pick a draw and won’t here, so Central Coast to compound Perth’s misery early in the season.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Blayne Treadgold

Macarthur, Newcastle, draw, draw, Sydney, Central Coast

I’m getting some real hangover vibes from Western United at the moment, as we know they are hugely reliant on Aleksandar Prijovic and to a lesser extent Alessandro Diamanti. Macarthur finding their straps, Arzani keen on a seat to Qatar – Macarthur to keep impressing with a 2-1 away win.

Newcastle are looking to keep their box-office reputation after Round 1’s last-gasp winner. They would have taken plenty of confidence from it, and they’ll continue their winning start to the season. It’ll be 2-0 to Newcastle

Despite their somewhat surprising 100 per cent record thus far, there’s still a lot of improvement in the Wanderers. Can they maintain the rage or will Brisbane finally get it together? 1-1 in this one and a better effort from the Roar.

This is always the hardest game to pick. Will Victory rebound after last week’s disappointing loss or will Melbourne City maintain their perfect record? Either way it’s sure to be a cracker. A 2-2 draw in one of the games of the season.

Both Sydney FC and Adelaide will be desperate to find some kind of momentum. Sydney’s big win last week will give them confidence but Adelaide won’t be easybeats. The home side will edge this one 1-0.

Perth’s woes continued against the Jets, Ruben Zadkovich will have some real work to do in keeping positivity in the team if the results don’t come. Unfortunately for Perth, it will be another rough result this week. Central Coast with a narrow 1-0 win.

(Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Andrew Prentice

Draw, Wellington, Western Sydney, draw, Sydney, Central Coast

The two newest teams in the league come together, and their circumstances couldn’t be more different. The reigning champions are pointless after two rounds thanks to some shambolic defending last week against Sydney FC. Given that was their key strength on the way to the title last season, coach John Aloisi will be looking for a defensive fix. Macarthur have attacking weapons aplenty and Daniel Arzani reminded everyone of his quality against Adelaide. Too close to call.

The Phoenix are back on the road – they’d know how that feels! It’s a clash of two undefeated clubs, although the Jets have played only once but impressed in beating the Glory while a player short last week. Both teams have shown attacking intent thus far and managed to get a result while short-handed. Ben Waine may revel in Jordan Elsey’s absence.

The Wanderers looked like the team of the Popovic era last week – against a Popovic-coached Victory. Marko Rudan has tightened up their central defence, and they are a team that are working for each other to win the ball. The Roar were flat-out awful against Melbourne City, even with the advantage of an extra player for almost all of the second half. They never looked like scoring and are facing a meaner defence this round. It doesn’t look good for Warren Moon’s charges.

Recent games between Victory and City have had more sizzle than a Bunnings barbecue. How can this go wrong for the neutral viewer? (You watch, having typed that, it’ll now be a drab stalemate). There are attacking weapons everywhere – Nicholas D’Agostino, Ben Folami, Jake Brimmer, Chris Ikonomidis versus Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout and Mat Leckie but not necessarily Marco Tilio, says not-Socceroos coach Patrick Kisnorbo. I get a feeling he might just feature in this one. Feels like a must-watch game on Saturday night.

Robert Mak and Joe Lolley look to be the buys of the early season for the Sky Blues. Scoring five goals in the first two games points to a healthy attacking prowess, but Steve Corica’s team have been uncharacteristically charitable at the back. It might be lucky for them that Adelaide looked incapable of hitting the side of a barn against Macarthur. The Reds are traditionally slow starters and haven’t really clicked as an attacking unit thus far. They need someone to profit from the endeavours of their wide players to get the season moving.

The Mariners’ belated start in Wellington showed that Jason Cummings’s next stamp in his passport should read ‘Qatar’. The charismatic Cumdingo (it’s his wrestling name, don’t ask) was a constant threat in his 70 minutes on the pitch, and the Glory might be in for a difficult afternoon in Gosford. While there were signs of promise for the West Australians up the road in Newcastle, it was an unforgivable error to leave the back door open with a neon sign and an arrow reading ‘THIS WAY TO GOAL’ in the last minute while playing against ten men. It’s hard to see them improving against Nick Montgomery’s side on Sunday.

Texi Smith

United, Newcastle, Western Sydney, Victory, Sydney, Central Coast

When Ulises Davila was flattened after three seconds on Sunday and eventually had to retire on ten minutes, Macarthur could have gone to pieces. Instead they rode their luck, conceded three disallowed goals and still beat Adelaide comfortably. Western United were picked apart by Sydney FC in a game in which they could have been well ahead early, and the surprisingly bobbly surface and seagull plague of AAMI Park may have been a factor. Expect that all to change in tonight’s battle of the least-supported teams in Australia, with the champions finally recording a win.

The Jets will have their tails up after their remarkable ten-man victory against Perth Glory, while Phoenix are no strangers to being away from home and will be loving the opportunity of heading to Australia again. The home team is stacked with quality, a melting pot of exciting players who will be unstoppable if they gel quickly. Jaushua Sotirio will be the matchwinner here, and a late Newcastle debut for Daniel Stynes will lead to a third goal and a statement of intent from the Jets.

Western Sydney Wanderers in danger of going top of the table, who would have thought? If there was a game that would be the most Wanderers game to lose, it’s a home fixture against an abject Brisbane Roar. The visitors were horrible against Melbourne City last week and even with a man advantage could not rouse themselves to compete. Roar should be lambs to the slaughter here, but a piece of magic by exciting prospect Jez Lofthouse will have them level on the hour to the disbelief of the home crowd. Cue an onslaught by the Wanderers, Romain Amalfitano starring in a grandstand finish that sees Ramy Najjarine and Kusini Yengi settle the nerves to keep Western Sydney at the summit of the A-League.

The Melbourne derby will be the firecracker we expect. City were ruthless without getting out of second gear last week, even resting a player for most of the second half to win easily. Victory are licking their wounds after a home defeat and will do everything possible to avoid a second loss on the spin. Cards aplenty, VAR and penalty madness, with long-range shooting the order of the day, Tony Popovic’s men are the hungrier and nastier of the two teams, coming away with a 2-1 win against the nice guys of Melbourne City.

Sydney FC have renewed impetus and won’t be as brittle as last season, something the Reds exploited. If they get their wide men buzzing again, they will be hard to stop. Paddy Wood will come off the bench and score a screamer to deny Adelaide 1-0.

Perth Glory’s NSW roadshow continues at Central Coast Mariners this Sunday. The home team are expected to win but will need all their resolve to overcome a tenacious team from Western Australia. A tough start to the season for Glory, but again, no lack of effort and determination, with the Mariners destined to claim the points and the pressure to continue to build on the Glory.

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