Sport FM 91.3 presenter Blayne Treadgold may be a man of the people, yet he bent them over and dished out a mighty good spanking in Round 14.

Three correct selections may not sound like many, but when the remainder of the panel could do no better than one and the voice of the people failed to score, Treadgold stood clearly top of the pops.

Anyone thinking Round 15 might offer some respite is living in fantasy land, with Sydney FC and Central Coast set to be a ripper in the Saturday twilight, Melbourne City seeking a full complement of points for the first time in a month against the Bulls and tricky matches to pick featuring the Glory at home against Newcastle and the Wanderers hosting Western United in the 3pm heat on Sunday afternoon.

Good luck with your tips for the round and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say as the battling voice of the people. Here is the way the panel sees all the Round 15 action unfolding.

Mike Tuckerman

Draw, City, draw, Adelaide, Glory, Wanderers

Are Tony Popovic’s days numbered in Melbourne? Victory fans will want to hope not after he just signed former Wanderers winger Bruce Kamau, but they turned in another disappointing performance in their Big Blue defeat to Sydney FC. They’ll be desperate to turn things around at home here, but Wellington Phoenix should be good enough to dig in for a point, particularly after Ufuk Talay was just turned down as the next coach of New Zealand.

Melbourne City couldn’t have been more careless at the back in their 3-3 draw with Adelaide United last weekend. They’ll need Rado Vidosic to have put a rocket up the defence – not that he seems like that sort of coach – but they should have the quality to see off a Macarthur side still finding their way under interim coach Mile Sterjovski.

Sydney FC’s 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory may have papered over the cracks for now, but they weren’t hugely impressive in that win. They continue to look vulnerable in defence, and they’ll hope Jason Cummings misses this game through injury. The Mariners continue to trouble every side they face, and they were good value for a point in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with the Wanderers. This one could be a tight and tense affair, so it’s hard to pick a clear winner.

Adelaide United will be without Juande for the rest of the season and they’ll be kicking themselves for letting all three points slip in last week’s 3-3 draw with Melbourne City. They’re tough to beat at Coopers Stadium though, and they’re coming up against a Brisbane Roar side desperately down on confidence. With Joe Gauci in the form of his life, the Reds should have the quality to collect another home win.

Perth Glory have made Macedonia Park a bit of a fortress, and they’re now unbeaten in their last five games. They did well to fight back to a 2-2 draw with Wellington Phoenix in Palmerston North last time out, and Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich will be delighted to see a few other names, like David Williams, stepping up and making a difference. The Jets blew Brisbane Roar away in their 4-0 home win, but this could be a trickier task. I reckon the home team will jag a win here.

Western Sydney Wanderers couldn’t quite see off a stubborn Central Coast Mariners side last weekend, and they’ll be eager to start jagging some wins. They’ve won only once since the league resumed after the World Cup and they go into this game on the back of three successive draws. They’ll come up against a Western United side that have proved tougher to beat of late, even if they needed a late equaliser last weekend. But the Wanderers need a win, and they should claim one here.

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

Stuart Thomas

Victory, City, Central Coast, Adelaide, Perth, United

Frankly, I am sick of the draws! There have been far too many for a tipster who generally steers clear of that result. Victory are awful right now, yet if they are to claim a set of three points in their current form, a Phoenix team on the road might be their best shot. Somehow Popovic will get them over the line.

I felt that City were unlikely to go three weeks without a bag of three points, yet they stumbled again against the Reds in what was an uncomfortable match to watch on Sunday afternoon. They are not playing badly, and the Bulls might struggle against a motivated team with quality right across the park.

Central Coast Mariners should beat Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, yet after a Big Blue win, could Steve Corica’s men be about to mount a charge towards the top six and silence a mountain of critics? Nope; the Mariners in a tight one. I am determined to keep tipping against Brisbane until they actually start finding the back of the net. I’m not sure how ten goals in 14 matches is a sustainable approach despite their excellent defensive attributes. Adelaide will score at home and it is likely that the Roar bore will not.

Perth are undefeated in five and could move as high as third on the ladder with a win against the Jets, who will also be looking to move inside the six. What a league this is! A few weeks back most saw these two clubs running bottom and/or second to last; now they eye finals. The fairytale will continue and the Glory will move into serious finals contention.

Round 15 reeks of a last chance for Western United before many will sound the death knell for their season. Despite the Wanderers’ higher position on the ladder, the teams are separated by just five points and potentially two at the end of the match. In a shock, John Aloisi will inspire his boys’ season with a stunning 3-0 win on the road.

(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Blayne Treadgold

Draw, City, Central Coast, Adelaide, Perth, Western Sydney

Melbourne Victory are in a world of hurt currently and they’ll have to wait another week for a win. They’ll draw in this one against the Phoenix.

Melbourne City will get back to their winning ways this week against a Macarthur side who have lost much of their spark.

Despite a win last week, Sydney FC will come back to earth as the Mariners train rolls on – Central Coast to win in a tight one.

The Reds and the Roar are two sides with mixed form in the middle part of the season. It’s a hard one to pick, but Adelaide should do just enough at home.

Newcastle had a big win last week, but it won’t be enough to halt the Perth train. They’ve gone five games unbeaten and will go six this weekend to move inside the top six.

It’s an important game for both the Wanderers and United when they meet in Sydney, but a loss would pull the Wanderers right back into the pack. The Wanderers will win this one – just.

(Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

Andrew Prentice

Wellington, City, Central Coast, Adelaide, Perth, draw

There is a famous Seinfeld episode where George Costanza decides that he will do the exact opposite of his first thought because he is always wrong. This should now be the strategy of any tipster in this utterly bonkers competition. In fact the only team currently running true to form are Melbourne Victory, who have secured one point in their last 21 and sit miserably at the bottom of the table. The Phoenix are unbeaten in their last four and sit fourth on the ladder, so by Costanza logic, Victory are specials. Call me logically stubborn, but don’t call me George.

City are in their own mini-slump with three successive draws but played their part in a pulsating six-goal thriller with the Reds last week, sadly overshadowed by the terrible injury to Adelaide midfielder Juande. Opponents Macarthur were one minute away from giving new coach Mile Sterjovski a debut win against Western United. The draws have to stop sooner or later.

The Sky Blues have won only once at their shiny new home but in doing so inflicted the season’s only defeat on Melbourne City. See what I mean? Bonkers. They came from a goal down to win the Big Blue last week thanks to Adam Le Fondre recapturing his scoring instinct. The Mariners do not have the apparent insecurity of Melbourne Victory, though, and probably should have taken the points against the Wanderers in one of the best games of the season. They have new signing Dylan Wenzel-Halls to add to an attack that is already outscoring the league.

The Roar attack has looked like a hormonally short-fused teenager stumbling blindly towards a first kiss in recent weeks. They have relied on their defence for too long and it all came unstuck last week at Newcastle. If they don’t start scoring soon, their drop down the table may well accelerate. How the Reds mentally adjust to Juande’s injury will have a big bearing on how this ends up. They have been defensively unreliable so far but are facing the league’s worst attack this round.

After giving the league a healthy head start, the Glory continue to reign them in little by little. They came from 2-0 down in New Zealand to take their unbeaten streak to four. The Jets laid waste to Brisbane’s supposed defensive iron wall in the second half of last week’s game to give everyone a glimpse of the ‘sexy football’ they were promising when the league began. While the Jets haven’t been too bad on their travels, no visitor has come to grips with the atmosphere and dimensions of Perth’s Macedonia Park.

The Wanderers continue to ride high on the ladder despite having remained winless since New Year’s Day. New signing Morgan Schneiderlin expressed his intention to start as soon as possible since moving from Ligue 1 club Nice. While the acquisition of a defensive midfielder for a team that have conceded 12 goals but scored only 16 might seem like over-egging the cake, it may give Oli Bozanic more licence to get forward and create the same kind of havoc he did against his former employers last start. Western United’s form is persistently inconsistent but apart from a walloping at Melbourne City in Round 11, they never go away, like a fly at a barbecue.

Josh Risden of Western United (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Texi Smith

Victory, City, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Western Sydney

Wellington Phoenix were looking good last week against Perth Glory, but a ridiculous sending-off swung the game in the visitors’ favour and they were hanging on for dear life at the end. They travel to Melbourne Victory and an opponent in total disarray. What a tonic it will be then when the hosts are two goals up at half-time, Jake Brimmer and Jay Barnett with a goal apiece, Wellington’s Ben Old spurning chances for the visitors in an even first half. A second half dominated by the visitors will see a breakaway goal to wrap things up, Nishan Velupillay sprinting through to side-foot home. A big tonic for Victory and their beleaguered fans.

Melbourne City will be smarting from their defensive horror show last weekend and will be absolutely fizzing against Macarthur. The Bulls were unlucky not to get the win against Western United last time out, although they could have been well behind in the first half on any other day. The opening half will see Macarthur show their midfield power, the classy Ulises Davila on fire, Tom Glover the difference at the break, saving twice from long range from the Mexican superstar to keep the scores level. With some harsh words in their ears at the break, City will be inspired, and Florin Berenguer’s resurgence from the bench will see the home team score two quick-fire goals. Jamie Maclaren will wrap things up with another late in the game, two 3-0 wins for the Melbourne teams at AAMI Park in 24 hours.

The Sydney FC versus Central Coast Mariners match at Allianz Stadium is utterly impossible to predict. Under-fire Sky Blues coach Steve Corica, the pendulum swinging weekly between surely sacked and miraculously reprieved, will again trust fan favourite Max Burgess to be the difference in midfield, but we’ll see more of the failings on display that have left them in such a perilous position. Marco Tulio’s low shot from a rare Mariners attack will see the wind taken out of the bumper home crowd after a period of Sydney possession, but a strong finish to the half will have Sydney FC level through their main source of danger, Joe Lolley. That will set up the hosts for a massive second half, and they will turn on the style, Diego Cabello getting on the scoresheet before Paddy Wood sprints clear to win it. Sydney FC all of a sudden looking like world-beaters while Dylan Wenzel-Halls tastes an unsavoury defeat on his debut.

Adelaide United at home against Brisbane Roar and the visitors come off the back of a 4-0 thumping at Newcastle. Surely this is no contest. The hosts were unlucky not to take the points away at the premiers last week, and they have a lot of quality that has allowed them to consolidate a top-six position. There will be no gifts this week though for Adelaide, and they will struggle to contain livewire Carlo Armiento. No goals at the break, Jay O’Shea smashing a shot off the bar from distance will be the turning point, and the recalled Hiroshi Ibusuki will finally have a golden spell, scoring two tap-ins and a bullet header to complete a remarkable second-half hat-trick.

Perth Glory return to Macedonia Park for an exciting match-up against Newcastle, the visitors having blown away the Roar in the second half last week. If they could just bottle up that verve and willingness to run at their opponents, we would see a repeat, but the visitors’ reluctance to put their obvious attacking talent on show again will backfire, and Perth will make this an uncomfortable evening for the overly defensive Jets. Mustafa Amini with an opening goal on the half-hour, first to react to a rebound in the box, and once the Jets have sacrificed Reno Piscopo and Jaushua Sotiirio to go even further into their shell, Keegan Jelacic will smash home a second late in the game to secure the points for Glory that lift them into the top six.

Western Sydney Wanderers return to action, and it will be a hot and steamy Commbank Stadium that welcomes Western United. Brandon Borrello is settling into his striking role with ease, and he will be a key man today in the Wanderers’ strong start. Leading 1-0 after a Marcelo header, the football purists’ dream will be realised when Milos Ninkovic and Alessandro Diamanti come on at the same time with half an hour to play, and both players will be instrumental in teeing up a frantic final ten minutes with the scores suddenly locked at 2-2. It will be from the unlikely source of Daniel Wilmering that the home team secures the points, his run beating the offside trap and a cool, composed finish in front of the RBB earning him an extended post-match love-in.