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Central Coast Mariners
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Melbourne City FC
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The Central Coast Mariners continue the long search for their first win for the season as they take on Melbourne City at Central Coast Stadium in this mid-week fixture to complete Round 12. Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) for live scores and a blog of the game.
The real question for the Mariners is not so much whether they can win tonight, but how do they pick themselves up after the heartbreak in Wellington some four days ago?
The Mariners, for a full half of football, were everything that an A-League team needed to be to win football games: tough, disciplined, and clinical.
So Central Coast can take confidence from the first half talent they showed.
But that second half was so unfortunate, and it must be playing in their heads as to whether they are ever going to win again.
Melbourne, on the other hand, are riding high, unbeaten in their last five games, and on a three-game winning streak, Warren Joyce has his men from Melbourne purring along nicely at the moment.
The key for Melbourne so far has been defence, with the stingiest defence in the league.
Melbourne, however, are not as decisive in front of goal, but will welcome Frenchman Florin Berenguer into the squad, who should add a few more options up front.
Another positive for City is the inclusion of Riley McGree, who has managed to avoid any significant damage from that knee injury that saw him leave the game early against Brisbane last round.
History does not bode well for the Mariners against this opponent as well, where Melbourne have not lost in their last five Central Coast Stadium appearances, and the Mariners are winless in a whopping 10 last games against City.
Prediction
I was initially going to tip the upset, as the Mariners looked good for a win last weekend, and you would think that at home, they can play the full 90 minutes. But I just can’t look past that Melbourne defence, best in the league, and yet to concede from a set-piece. I think the Melbourne discipline down back will just be too much for the Mariners.
Melbourne City 2-nil.
Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) for live scores and updates, and don’t forget to leave a comment in the comments section below.
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