Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix - A-League betting - 03.05.2019

Melbourne Victory could be forgiven for having one eye on a likely A-League semi-final with Sydney FC. Before getting ahead of themselves, Victory must first negotiate a challenging elimination final against Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park on Friday night.

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Preview

Melbourne Victory finished the season with 50 points and a +18 goal difference, while Wellington scraped into the finals with 40 points and a +3 goal difference. Despite the gap between these teams, the head-to-head record is much closer. These teams drew all three of their meetings this seson, with 1-1 and 3-3 draws at Melbourne’s AAMI Park and a 1-1 draw in Wellington.

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In terms of finals form, Victory’s is good but Phoenix has little recent history to rely on. Victory won the A-League championship from fourth last year, winning their elimination final, semi-final, and grand final. This is Victory’s seventh straight appearance in the finals. In the last six years, they have a 5-1 win-loss record in their opening final (elimination final or semi final). This is Phoenix’s first finals match since 2015. The Kiwis haven’t won a final since beating Sydney FC 3-2 at home in 2012.

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Betting Tips

Given the tight head-to-head record between these teams, there are sure to be plenty of nerves on game day. Victory have the advantage in terms of finals experience, but we can see Phoenix holding them to a draw in regular time. Unibet is paying 4.00 for the match to be a draw after the first 90 minutes.

? x 2? Check out this DOUBLE stop from #Nix goalkeeper @oli_sail last night against Perth Glory to earn himself the @ALeague Save of the Round.#StandupWithYourNix #CreateHistory #SOTR pic.twitter.com/ZJSOl8I1FS

— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) 29 April 2019

If the match ends in a draw, it will go to extra time and then penalties if needed. In the end, it’s likely Melbourne Victory will defeat Wellington Phoenix and progress to the semi-finals. bet365 is paying 1.40 for Victory to qualify and 9.50 for them to do it in extra time.

Both teams scored in all three head-to-head meetings in the home and away season. We like the 1.67 odds being offered by PointsBet on both teams scoring on Friday.