A-League Betting: Sydney FC great value to ‘Win to Nil’ against Central Coast Mariners
Recommended bet: Sydney FC to ‘Win to Nil’ @ 13/10 (2.30) with Sportsbet
Sydney FC welcome Central Coast Mariners to the Allianz Stadium on Friday knowing that this could potentially be the weekend when they are crowned A-League Premiers’ Plate champions.
For that to materialize they would not only need to beat the Mariners, but also hope that Melbourne Victory drop points in their game at home to Perth Glory 24 hours later.
Sydney have a commanding 11-point lead at the top of the A-League with just five rounds of games remaining following last week’s 1-0 win at home to Victory, a result that all but ensures that they will claim the title for the regular season at some point in the coming week or two.
It would certainly be a major surprise were the Mariners to do much to delay the inevitable, with Paul Okon’s team being one off the bottom of the table and needing a minor miracle to qualify for the end of season play-offs themselves.
In fairness to the Mariners, their young squad has already improved on last season’s showing, but there is little to suggest they can stop the Sydney juggernaut.
The Sky Blues have won both meetings between the teams this season, winning 4-0 at the Allianz Stadium in October, then 3-2 at Central Coast Stadium in early January. In the last eight A-League meetings between the two teams, Mariners have taken just a solitary point. Sydney also has a commanding 27:9 goal difference over those eight matches.
In addition, this is a game between the highest scorers in the A-League this season and the team with the most porous defence. On top of that, Sydney also have by far the best defensive record in the league this season, conceding at a rate of just 0.50 goals per game, whilst the Mariners are not the most prolific goalscorers.
It’s no surprise that Sydney are priced at best odds of 1/4 (1.25) to win this game. That’s a price that holds little appeal but, particularly given their excellent defensive record, there looks to be some real value in backing them to ‘Win to Nil’ at 13/10 (2.30) with Sportsbet.
