A-League Betting: 2 to 3 Goals looking good between table-topping Sydney & Melbourne Victory
Recommended bet: Total Goals Exact – 2 to 3 Goals @ 21/20 (2.05) with bet365
It’s the battle of the top two in the A-League on Friday at the Allianz Stadium, with both Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory already well clear of the chasing pack.
Such has been Sydney’s dominance this season that they are already mathematically assured of direct qualification for the Finals Series semi-finals with six rounds of matches still remaining in the regular campaign.
Victory themselves look nailed on to join the Sky Blues in semi-final qualification, with them having an almost unassailable 11-point advantage over 3rd placed Perth Glory.
What is still (just about) up for grabs here is the race for the A-League Premiers, with Sydney maintaining an 8-point lead over Victory after last week’s results.Should Victory be able to come away from the Allianz Stadium with maximum points, it could make things interesting over the run-in. It certainly adds a little extra to the Big Blue rivalry on this occasion.
In reality, there’s little reason to believe that Sydney will be caught. After their only league defeat of the campaign to date in the Sydney derby, they returned to winning ways with a 3-1 win away to Melbourne City last time out. The win was aided somewhat by Manny Muscat’s 1st half sending off for City, but it showed the character of Graham Arnold’s team nonetheless.
For their part, Victory saw off the outgoing champions Adelaide United 2-1 at AAMI Park last weekend in a game they largely dominated. The win included a 17th league goal of the season for Besart Berisha.
The Sky Blues and Victory are not just the top two teams in the country at present, but they are also the A-League’s joint leading scorers, with both having racked up 44 goals from 21 matches. They are also the two best teams defensively this term though, so it’s not necessarily going to be a high-scoring encounter.
There’s no great pressure on either team in this match, although it could well be a potential dress rehearsal for the Grand Final. Rather than back a match result, the bet to be on here might be the exact number of goals, with 2 to 3 looking a decent shout at 21/20 (2.05).
