The footy season may have come to a conclusion on the weekend but when one door shuts, another opens and the same goes in this case with the 2016-17 A-league season kicking off on Friday night. Continue reading for our A-league Round 1 Preview and Betting Tips.
Brisbane Roar vs Melbourne Victory (Friday 7.50pm AEST)
The 2016-17 A-league season will commence with a bang as the Victory will travel to take on the Roar in a match that produced a lot of goals last season. The Victory have recruited a lot of strength whilst they have maintained their best players. The side and coaching staff was disappointed with their season last year as they were short priced favourites to win the league and grand final but they fell away and only just scraped into the finals series before being eliminated in the first week. They have brought back their prodigal son Marco Rojas and he will partner Besart Berisha up front to make a dynamic duo. The Victory have a lot more depth than last year and they won’t have to worry about Asian Champions League football.
The Roar are coming off a successful season where they were predicted to finish near the bottom of the table. John Aloisi proved himself as a coach but he won’t be content with one good season. The side has recruited an ex-Socceroo to bolster their midfield with Brett Holman joining the side. He has a lot of doubters but he has played at the highest level in a lot of different leagues and will bring a lot of experience to the side. We are predicting the Roar to challenge the Victory early in the match but the Victory are notorious for starting their season strongly and we are predicting them to earn the win.
TIP: Melbourne Victory @ $2.88 with Ladbrokes
Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne City (Saturday 5.35pm AEST)
You can expect an entertaining football match to start your Saturday night with these two sides jam packed with attacking weapons. Of course the biggest story line to come out of this match will be Tim Cahill making his long awaited debut in the A-league. He has long been the saviour and face of Australian soccer and it will be great to see him playing on home soil.
Cahill will partner the defending golden boot winner up front Bruno Fornaroli who bagged 23 goals in 27 appearances last season for the most goals in one year in the A-league. However, it isn’t all positive for City as they are without their best player Aaron Mooy who has moved to Europe to further his career and their defence doesn’t look like it will be much better this year.
Speaking of poor defences, the Phoenix haven’t attempted to improve theirs through the transfer market and instead they have focused on fixing their attack that was lacking last season. They have a great front four of ex-victory player Kosta Barbarouses, Gui Finkler, Michael McGlinchey and Roy Krishna. These players will combine to make any defence in the competition worried and we are predicting the side to spoil City’s start to the season by making them settle for a draw.
TIP: Draw @ $3.60 with CrownBet
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Sydney FC (Saturday 7.50pm AEST)
Things will get fiery in the opening weekend with the huge Sydney derby to open these two sides campaigns. Sydney FC are coming off a disappointing season and coach Graham Arnold has recruited throughout the offseason in an attempt to push the Sky Blues back to the top of the table quickly. Arnold has added four Australian internationals to the side including his former keeper at the Mariners Danny Vukovic and he has grabbed a great marquee player in Bobo who is being compared with Marc Janko who excelled for Sydney FC two seasons ago.
Tony Popovic has torn apart his squad for the second straight season, which is a huge surprise considering his team reached the grand final last year but ultimately fell to the Reds. They have lost 15 players whilst signed 10 more and it is hard to predict how this side will gel together. We are predicting the Sky Blues will fire in a late goal to earn the victory in this one.
TIP: Sydney FC @ $2.62 with Sportsbet
Perth Glory vs Central Coast Mariners (Saturday 10pm AEST)
The Mariners will kick start their 2016-17 A-league season in a late match and in a tough location against Perth Glory. The Mariners are coming off the worst season in A-league history and broke all sorts of records that they wouldn’t be proud of. They earned just three wins last year and their coach has already stated that they are looking to put together consistent performances rather than worrying about victories. This will likely be another long season for players and fans as the club is continuing to go through a rebuilding phase.
The Glory had an awful start to the 2015-16 season but were able to finish strongly to scrape into the finals. It ultimately led to nothing as they were eliminated in the first week of the finals but they will hopefully take some momentum into this year. They have signed a terrific player in Rhy Williams, however he has suffered injuries throughout his career. If he can stay healthy he will be a huge player for the Glory. The Glory will be able to start their season well with a comfortable win against the Mariners.
TIP: HT/FT – Glory/Glory @ $2.35 with William Hill
Newcastle Jets vs Adelaide United (Sunday 5pm AEST)
The defending champions have to wait until the end of the weekend to get their title defence underway. However, you will be forgiven for not realising the A-league champions at first glance as five of their starting side has moved on to further careers in other leagues. Goodwin, Djite, Sanchez, Mauk and Kamau have all left the club and their replacements haven’t been too crash hot despite bringing in James Holland and Henrique. The Reds are definitely a weaker side than last year and they have a tough task ahead of them if they want to emulate last season’s heroics where they went from the bottom of the table after round 8 to champions at the end of the season.
The Jets have missed the finals for the last six years and they seem to think that sacking the coach that had the support from all of their fans would be the best choice. That clearly back fired quickly with everyone from Newcastle showing their displeasure of the choice. That will turn around quickly if they can get results, unfortunately for them though that won’t happen and the Reds will managed to get their title defence off to a great start.
TIP: Adelaide @ $2.00 with CrownBet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
