After two thrilling A-League elimination finals on the weekend, the 2018 finals series continues this weekend with a couple of massive semis. Newcastle will host Melbourne City on Friday ngiht before the Melbourne Victory will travel to Sydney on Saturday night for another instalment of the ‘Big Blue’ clash. We preview and give our tips for both games below.
A-League Semi Finals Betting Tips
Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne City (Friday 7.50pm AEST)
The semi finals will get underway Friday night as the Newcastle Jets host Melbourne City from 7.50pm. It’s been a great year for the Jets, who bounced back from a disappointing last place finish in 2016-17 to finish second on the A-League table this season, racking up 15 wins through their 27 games and scoring a whopping 57 goals, which was second only to Sydney FC.
Melbourne City will be happy with their season so far, but after some of the big moves they made in the off-season, 2017-18 will definitely be a failure unless they can advance to their first ever grand final. Captain Bruno Fornaroli, who was injured throughout the first half of the season, has been good for City but will need to stand up and create for a team that has struggled to find the back of the net all season.
Newcastle will be looking to reach their first grand final since they won the competition all the way back in 2008 and will enter the game as slight $2.55 favourites. However, the bookies see this game as essentially a 50/50 and it’s hard to disagree with them in my opinion. Both teams have had great patches throughout the year but I just think Newcastle have been a bit more consistent, losing just 7 of their 27 games.
Four of those losses have come at home, however, and Melbourne City boast more big game players in the likes of Fornaroli, Bozanic and Vidosic. I think Melbourne City can cause an upset away from home here and advance to their first final.
TIP: Melbourne City to qualify for the final - $1.83 at Sportsbet
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory (Saturday 7.50pm AEST)
Sydney FC have already secured back to back minor premierships, and they will be looking to make their second grand final in a row when they face Melbourne Victory on Saturday night. Coincidentally, it was Melbourne Victory who Sydney defeated in the grand final last year after going to a penalty shootout.
Sydney have been dominant to say the least in the 2017-18 season. They have lost just three games all season and won a whopping 20 of their 27 games. After a little shakey patch that included losses in both the A-League and the AFC Champions League, Sydney bounced back to win their last four A-League games of the season and will enter Saturday night’s game as hot favourites against Melbourne.
To say that Sydney have had the wood over their Melbounre rivals in recent history would be an understatement. The Sky Blues have defeated the Victory in their last seven consecutive matches including the grand final in in penalties last season. The two teams met three times this season and Sydney won all three affairs with a 5-1 goal aggregate.
Sydney have been the form side in the competition for the better part of two years and although it would be a great sight to see a Melbourne derby in the grand final, it’s hard to look past the Sky Blues at home, where they lost just one game all season.
TIP: Sydney FC to win - $1.75 at Sportsbet
