A-League Betting: Melbourne City the Asian Handicap bet against Western Sydney Wanderers
Recommended bet: Melbourne City -0.5 Asian Handicap @ 17/20 (1.85) with bet365
Melbourne City play host to Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park and both teams could do with a much-needed win.
A five-match winless run consisting of four draws and one defeat has seen City fall away somewhat in the pursuit of table-topping Sydney FC. It required a last-minute penalty from Bruno Fornaroli to ensure a 2-2 draw at Central Coast Mariners last time out.
Their campaign suffered a further blow on Monday when Dutch coach John van’t Schip stood down with immediate effect, citing a desire to return to the Netherlands to care for his seriously ill father.
Current form isn’t great for Wanderers either, with them having failed to win any of their last four matches. The last three have ended all square, including Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Perth Glory. Indeed, Wanderers are very much the draw specialists in the A-League this term, with them picking up a solitary point in eight of their 13 matches to date.
As things stand they occupy the final play-off position for the Elimination Finals, but they will need to start turning a few of those draws into wins over the coming months if they are to retain their current Top 6 position.
These teams have already met twice this season, with City winning 4-1 at AAMI Park in the FFA Cup quarter-final back in September and then drawing 1-1 at the Spotless Stadium in mid-November, when a Neil Kilkenny own goal salvaged a point for the Wanderers.
Until a permanent replacement is found for Van’t Schip, assistant coach Michael Valkanis has been appointed interim first-team coach and is scheduled to be in charge against Wanderers.
He could well make a winning start and Melbourne City should be able to make home advantage count here. They look value for the win at around 5/6, but you can get just a little extra by backing them on the Asian Handicap -0.5 (it’s the same bet in reality, but just a slight error in pricing).
That bet basically means that any win for City will produce a winning bet and, with the players at their disposal, that shouldn’t be beyond their capabilities.
