A-League Betting Tips: Back Sydney FC to beat Central Coast Mariners with Over 3.5 Goals

Recommended bet: Sydney FC to win & Over 3.5 Goals @ 8/5 (2.60) with bet365

Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners will both have been encouraged as to how they have started the new season. Supporters of both clubs will be looking for vast improvements in 2016-17 after disappointing campaigns last term.

The Sky Blues failed to even make the end of season Finals Series play-offs in 2015-16, but got off to a flying start last weekend with a 4-0 victory in the local derby at Western Sydney Wanderers before a record crowd of 61,880 at the ANZ Stadium, with all their goals coming in the second-half.

Having finished well adrift at the foot of the A-League table last season with just three wins in 27 matches and 70 goals conceded, expectations weren’t exactly high for Central Coast Mariners going into the new campaign.  

However, they began with an encouraging 3-3 draw at Perth Glory on Saturday evening, battling back from a 3-0 half-time deficit to snatch a point with two goals (including a bizarre own goal) in the last six-minutes of the match!

The Mariners certainly rode their luck at times and goalkeeper Ivan Necevski saved them on a number of occasions, but it was a result that showed that they possess some fighting spirit and should give them some much-needed self-belief, particularly as new manager Paul Okon barely had a month to prepare his squad ahead of the big kick-off.

Unfortunately, the fact that Perth Glory did create enough chances to comfortably win the match does indicate that the defensive frailties from last season remain (even with the addition of three players from Sydney FC in Jacques Faty, Mickael Tavares, and Necevski to try and shore things up) and Sydney might not be quite so wasteful in front of goal.

Sydney are available at a best price of around just 4/11 (1.36) to win the match, so it’s best to look to other markets for a better value price.  One that certainly has appeal is for Sydney to win and for there also to be over 3.5 goals in the match. With the Sky Blues scoring freely in their opening game and the Mariners still looking suspect at the back, a few goals look likely here.