Over 2.5 Goals looking likely in season opener between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory

A-League

Recommended bet: Over 2.5 Goals @ 4/5 (1.80) with Bet365

The new A-League season kicks-off on Friday with an attractive looking game between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory at the Suncorp Stadium.

These teams met four times in the A-League last term. There were the regulation three meetings in the regular season, with Victory winning the first 4-0 at AAMI Park, before Roar exacted revenge with a 5-0 win at the Suncorp Stadium (with Jamie Maclaren helping himself to a hat-trick). The final game of the regular season resulted in a 0-0 draw at AAMI Park, before the two teams met a week later in Brisbane in an Elimination final.

The match really came to life late on, with Melbourne Victory defender Jason Geria dismissed for two yellow cards on 83-minutes, only for Besart Berisha to give the visitors the lead three-minutes later. Remarkably there was still time for Matt McKay and Thomas Broich to then level and score a stoppage-time winner for Brisbane Roar.

That result should certainly be fresh enough in the memory to give this game an added edge.

It’s been a difficult time for Brisbane Roar off the pitch in the build-up to the new campaign, with Daniel Cobb’s short two-month reign as managing director being nothing short disastrous before he was sacked by the club’s Indonesian owners, the Bakrie Group.

There is still a consortium of local businessmen interested in buying the club off the Bakries, but until the off-field issues are settled, any deal is on hold. How much of an impact the uncertainty has on coach John Aloisi and his players, only time will tell.

Brisbane Roar go into the game as narrow favourites against the team fancied by many to win the title next April. It’s certainly a tough game to call, particularly at the start of a new season.

The best option here might be to look at the goal markets, with Roar looking to be far better going forward than they are defensively. For their `part, Victory have added Marco Rojas and James Troisi to the roster ahead of the new season, which should provide them with a greater goal threat. Over 2.5 Goals looks the pick.