A-League Betting: Home Advantage Could be Decisive for Brisbane Roar against Western Sydney Wanderers
Recommended bet: Brisbane Roar to Win @ 2.12 with Unibet
We’re off to the Suncorp Stadium on Friday for the first of the Elimination Finals, with Brisbane Roar playing host to Western Sydney Wanderers for a semi-final berth.
Roar ended the regular league season with a 4-3 win at home to Wellington Phoenix, battling back from a 3-1 half-time deficit to do so. It was a result that enabled them to secure third spot in the final table, when they had briefly been looking at the prospect of facing an away tie.
Wanderers were never serious contenders for a top four finish, but also showed their fighting spirit in retrieving a two goal deficit to end the season with a 2-2 draw at Adelaide United.
Both of these teams lost just seven of 27 matches in the regular season, but both were close to being draw specialists. Nine of Roar’s games finished all square, whilst no fewer than 12 of Wanderers’ matches ending with them sharing the points.
The three encounters between the teams in the regular league campaign were all close affairs, with the first game at the Spotless Stadium in November and the second at the Suncorp Stadium a month later both ending in 1-1 draws.
It wasn’t until the third game (also at the Suncorp Stadium) in January that we had a winner, with Roar edging home 2-1 thanks to a goal deep into stoppage-time from Brett Holman.
It’s also perhaps worth noting that Wanderers finished both games at the Suncorp Stadium playing with 10 men, with Brendon Santalab and Scott Neville each seeing red.
Both teams have been involved in AFC Champions League group games in recent weeks, although both currently sit bottom of their respective groups. Roar still have an outside chance of qualifying for the next round, but the game looks up for Wanderers already.
With the next round of AFC Champions League group matches being next week, it could potentially have a minor bearing on this game from Roar’s perspective.
Roar only lost two of 13 home games in the regular season and that form in front of their own fans makes them worth backing at 2.12 with Unibet to progress to the semi-final stage.
