Aust. A-League
2013-02-08 - Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory
A Sports Betting Pick by DownUnder
Football : Australia : A-League
Date: Friday February 8, 2013
Kick-off:7pm local, 7.30pm AEST 09:30 GMT
Venue:Hindmarsh Stadium
Form:
Adelaide United : LLLWD
Home record - 10 played -- 7 wins 1 draw 2 losses (21:12)
Melbourne Victory : WWWDW
Away record - 8 played -- 4 win 0 draws 4 losses (12:16)
This is a match up of two teams going in different directions, 3 straight loses for the home team, 3 wins for the visiting team.
But History shows us that the Victory have won just one of the past seven encounters with Adelaide !
Adelaide United (4th)
Adelaide have conceded 11 goals in their past four matches, and coach Michael Valkanis (a former defender for Adelaide) knows that this has to stop if they want to hold on to a semi-final playoff spot.
This will be Michael Valkanis’s second game in charge after John Kosmina declared he had had enough and bailed, he will undoubtedly concentrated on the defence during that time and would be looking to stem the flow of leaked goals.
The powerhouse of the midfield is Dario Vidosic, and though having bagged 8 goals this season, it’s the quality of his passes through to Marcelo Carrusca that will be critical to Adelaide’s chances of grabbing something here.
Both Osama Malik and Jeronimo Neumann return to the starting lineup but Nigel Boogaard(defender) is suspended and Bruce Djite has a groin strain that will keep him out for this and the next game at least.
Melbourne Victory (2nd)
Coach Ange Postecoglou seems to have the Victory playing fast attacking football at the expense of defending. Melboune Victory have leaked 29 goals in 19 matches this season, but with the attractive football they are playing and results that they are achieving, who would knock them.
The Victory have won six of their past eight games and are on a roll. Put that down to Rojas and Thompson who have combined to score 19 goals this season, they have pace that leaves most defences in their wake.
The Victory welcome back Diogo Ferreira from suspension but have lost Mark Milligan who is on international duty with the Australian team coming back from Romania.
Head to Head
Played : 29
Wins: Adelaide United 9, Melbourne Victory 15,
Draws: 5
Previous encounter
Adelaide United 4 Melbourne Victory 2, December 7 2012
The Betting Verdict
I see Adelaide having to turn their recent form around and prove to their home supporters that they are still semi-final contenders.
Counter this with the Victory who are scoring (and leaking) goals for fun. Both teams will be going for it tonight, and there will be goals a plenty.
The Pick :
Adelaide United 2 - 3 Melbourne Victory
BEST BETTING TIP :
Shrimp on the Barbie (main bet)Take Over 3.5 goals @ $4.00 at Bet365
....and if you after a small salad (really small bet) ...
Take Melbourne Victory to win as exact score 3-2 @ $26.00 at Coral
