We capped off a strong 2018-19 A-League season with two winners from our three tips in the 26thand final week of regular season action. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hit on the draw market in the Sydney vs Perth clash, but we hit on Adelaide defeating Victory ($2.63) and Wellington defeating City ($2.63). Overall, we’ve had a really successful season and look forward to translating our form into the finals.
Week one of the finals kicks off this weekend with two massive clashes. Perth Glory and Sydney FC finished first and second respectively, earning themselves a week off. However, Melbourne Victory, Wellington Phoenix, Adelaide United, and Melbourne City will all be playing their part in do or die fixtures. We preview both matches in below as well as provide our expert betting tips. As always, good luck to everyone following!
A-League Finals Week 1 Betting Tips
Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix (Friday 7:50pm AEST)
The first of the Elimination Finals kicks off on Friday night with an intriguing battle between Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix. Victory finished in third place while Phoenix sixth, meaning this will be played at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday at 7:50pm (AEST).
Melbourne Victory would be disappointed that they couldn’t land a top two spot and guarantee themselves a place in the second week of finals, but they do find themselves in a familiar spot to last year where they went on to become champions. Third spot at least gives them home ground advantage in this tie, although they actually had more success on the road this season.
After finishing second last in 2017-18, Wellington Phoenix were the success story of the 2018-19 season where they finished in sixth and earned themselves a spot in the first week of the finals. They had most of their success on their home patch where they won eight of 14 fixtures but will have to do it on the road on Friday night where they won just three games all season.
Melbourne and Wellington met three times this season and shared the points in all three. Their games finished 1-1, 3-3, 1-1, respectively, which shows just how closely matched they are. While we can appreciate that Victory have shown the ability to ramp it up a notch in the finals, we’re more confident at making a play on the BTTS market at similar odds.
Both Teams to Score
$1.72
Adelaide United vs Melbourne City (Sunday 7pm AEST)
The second and final game on this weekend is the Elimination Final between Adelaide United and Melbourne City. Melbourne City finished as the second-best team in the state and fifth overall, while Adelaide came home strong to finish fourth and claim home advantage in this do or die fixture on Sunday at 7pm (AEST).
After winning the FFA Cup prior to seasons commencement, Adelaide United got off to a surprisingly sluggish start in the A-League. However, they found their form as the season went on and eventually finished in fourth spot to earn themselves a home final on Sunday night. Adelaide were 6-4-4 in home fixtures this season, which was sixth best mark in the league.
While Melbourne City would eventually earn the fifth spot on the ladder, they were a little underwhelming this season. Many thought big things were on the horizon for their club, which still may be the case, but they’ll have to play at a much higher level than the one they were at during the season. City put together a dismal 4-2-8 road record this season ahead of their travels to Adelaide.
The bookies have given both teams a chance to win this with Adelaide the slight favourites at $2.20. Considering the home form of Adelaide and the away form of City, it’s hard to look past the home side here. It’s the tougher of the two fixtures to predict but we believe Adelaide are the most value here.
