The first third of the season wraps up this weekend, with the Melbourne Victory clutching a narrow lead at the top of the table.
Melbourne edges Sydney FC out on goal difference, sits a point ahead of Adelaide United, two ahead of the Central Coast Mariners and three points ahead of Queensland Roar, who inflicted Melbourne’s first defeat of the season last week.
This is a critical round. Adelaide hosts the Mariners tonight, while Queensland have another away game, this time in Sydney. The Wellington Phoenix have a chance for back-to-back victories (they’ve never achieved this before), with the Newcastle Jets missing a host of players, including Joel Griffiths.
Suspensions and injuries have whittled Melbourne’s squad down to barely enough to field a full team. Carlos Hernandez, Michael Theoklitos and Ney Fabiano are all out with suspensions; Sebastian Ryall and Nathan Elasi are on international duty; and Michael Thwaite is out with an ankle injury, while Nick Ward may make a reappearance. Steven Pace has been promoted into the squad, as has Matthew Theodore, who impressed me last week in the Youth League.
The Perth Glory aren’t without their problems. With just four points to show from 6 rounds, they’re holding up the bottom of the table. Former Victory player James Robinson has been ruled out for the next ten weeks with a groin injury, while Amaral, Dinjo Djulbic, Hayden Foxe and Josip Magdic are all still unavailable.
My tips for the weekend:
- Adelaide United to draw with Central Coast Mariners. Both these sides had strong wins last week, and they’re sitting in three and four on the ladder. I’m tipping a draw.
- Melbourne Victory to thump three past the Perth Glory. I like to be specific with my Victory tips.
But seriously, even with a less-than-stellar squad, Melbourne should be able to beat the Glory emphatically. - Sydney FC to draw with Queensland Roar. Again, I’m tipping a draw, but this could really go either way. At the end of the season, I would expect both of these sides to be in the final four.
- Newcastle Jets to draw with Wellington Phoenix. What can Newcastle do without Joel Griffiths? A fired up Wellington might be able to grab a win, but I think a draw’s the more likely outcome.
4 comments ↓
when is steve pantaledis going to get a run in this team?
I’d have thought he could have slot nicely into the back 3 this weekend, leaving Kemp to play the wide right role.
That’s some predicting Eric… so far 3 out of 3 and with only 1 more match to go for the weekend it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Personally, I think the Jets might just get in a scrappy win.
Also, it’s a shame that there’s only 4 matches per weekend… v5.0 should be somewhat nicer.
4-0, too easy. Perth have definitley lost their mojo. I kind of hope they start winning because they used to have great support.
Andy, who would you leave out for Pantelidis? Berger – playing fantastically up and down the left wing; a real find. Muscat? Vargas? Panta is a good solid defender and a great man to have on the bench but he doesnt create much and there isnt room for him at present.
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