An enthralling A-League season continues with a top four clash between Auckland and Macarthur headlining Round 17. The Before You Bet team has you covered with our best bets for this weekend’s action!
A-League Round 17 Preview & Betting Tips
Auckland FC vs Macarthur
GoMedia Stadium, Saturday 1st February, 3:00pm AEDT
It’s a battle of first versus fourth at GoMedia Stadium as league leading Auckland host Macarthur. Auckland are unbeaten in their last three games, with their last outing a 1-0 victory over the Wanderers, thanks to Neyder Moreno’s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time which saw Auckland go to first place on the table. Macarthur picked up a crucial 1-0 win over Melbourne City, which saw the Bulls leapfrog City into fourth place on the table.
This game is going to be a battle of offence versus defence, with Auckland possessing the best defence in the league (11 goals conceded) and Macarthur the third highest scoring team (29 goals scored). Auckland will have a big job to limit Marcarthur’s Valere Germain (7 goals) and Marin Jakolis (4 goals, 6 assists). If Auckland can limit the influence of Germain and Jakolis it will go a long way to winning this clash. The Bulls suffered a massive blow this week with Jed Drew (6 goals, 7 assists) signing in Austria, Drew was the league leader for assists and sixth for goals.
Auckland have been a tough side to beat at home this season, with a 5-1-1 record at GoMedia Stadium, the best home record in the A-League. Equally Macarthur are an excellent team on the road, with a 5-1-1 away record which is the second best in the A-League. Time and time again this season Auckland’s defence has stood up, and they’ve conceded just five goals at home this season. The league leaders will keep their spot at the top of the table with a gritty win.
Auckland FC To Win
$1.80 (1 Unit)
Sydney FC vs Adelaide United
Allianz Stadium, Saturday 1st February, 5:00pm AEDT
Allianz Stadium plays host to a massive clash in the races for top spot and the top six, as second place Adelaide United travel east to take on Sydney FC. Back to back losses has seen the Sky Blues fall outside of the top six, and in desperate need of a victory. In contrast things are going remarkably well for Adelaide United, who have three wins and a draw from their last four games. The Reds had a bye last week which allowed Auckland to pass them and move into first place, but they are right in the race to win the Premier’s Plate and secure home ground advantage throughout the finals.
Both Adelaide and Sydney have been excellent attacking teams this season, with the Sky Blues ranking as the best attacking team in the league (32 goals) with the Reds second (31 goals). Sydney FC’s attacking game hasn’t been at its most potent form in recent weeks, failing to score in two of their last three games, while Adelaide United are yet to be held goalless in a single game this season.
Adelaide United have only lost one game this season, and possess a perfect record away from home with six wins from as many games, unsurprisingly the best in the competition. Form is certainly on the side of the Reds who won’t see the trip to Sydney as a daunting task. Adelaide United will continue their excellent season with another win on the road.
Adelaide United To Win
$2.65 (1.5 Units)
Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory
HBF Stadium, Saturday 1st February, 9:45pm AEDT
After a tough month, Melbourne Victory have a chance to claim back to back wins when they head west to take on Perth Glory. Victory ended a six game winless streak with a pivotal 2-0 win over Sydney FC at home last week. Victory only had 35% possession, but won the shot count 11-8 and shots on target 5-1 in what was a gutsy win to get back into the top six. The Glory picked up points for just the fifth time in fifteen games this season, with a 2-2 draw with Newcastle last week.
Things have gone as bad as they possibly could for Perth this season, who have a 2-3-10 record. The Glory have the worst defence in the league (37 goals conceded) and have scored the fewest goals this season (11 goals scored). The Glory also rank dead last in the league for possession (36.1%), which makes it hard to be competitive when you are the worst team in the league in the main three facets of the game. Remarkably the Glory are second last on the table, however bottom placed Brisbane have played two less games.
The Victory have had a strong record against the Glory in recent years, with a 4-1-1 record from the last six A-League fixtures between the two sides. They last faced off on the 8th of December, where the Victory ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, amassing 69% possession and recording 25 shots to Perth’s 2. It’s difficult to see Perth being competitive in this fixture, and with the Victory finally getting some confidence after a win over Sydney, will be too strong for the Glory.
Melbourne Victory -1
$2.05 (1 Unit)
