Aust. A-League
2013-02-17 - Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix
A Sports Betting Pick by Downunder
Date: Sunday, February 17 2013
Kick-off: 5pm AEDT, 4pm local 7am GMT
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Form:
Brisbane Roar : LLDWL
Home record - 9 played -- 4 wins 1 draws 4 losses (15:10)
Wellington Phoenix : LWDLL
Away record - 10 played -- 1 wins 2 draw 7 losses (11:27)
Brisbane Roar (8th)
Brisbane would appear on paper a better side than the Phoenix, but you have to add to the mix that the Roar flew to Thailand mid week to play an Asian Champions league match which went to extra time, and was ultimately lost on penalties. The conditions were so sapping that the Roar failed to convert any of the penalties, how much did that take out of the team?
If the midfield pairing of Dutchman Stefan Nijland and German Thomas Broich start to click, the strikers are going to be provided with many opportunities to test the porous Phoenix defence.
Henrique returns to the squad, but Ivan Franjic is out for this game.
Besart Berisha has not really kicked on from last season’s golden boot performance but he does have a fine record against the Phoenix, finding the net 4 times in 5 games.
Wellington Phoenix (9th )
Needless to say, if you concede on average 2.7 goals in your away games, its going to be hard to pick up points on the road.
This defensive frailty is exactly the problem that the Phoenix have yet to manage.
They had their moments in last week’s 5-0 loss at the Central Coast but again sloppy marking and lack of focus resulted in gifting goals to the opposition.
Isaka Cernak has been a good acquisition and I think he'll make the difference in the midfield.
Thankfully for coach Ricki Herbert, his starting line up is a lot stronger for this fixture. Jeremy Brokie is suspended but this might hand Fulham loanee Corey Gameiro the chance to shine on debut. Ben Sigmund, Bertos and Lochhead all return and the back line will have a more settled fell to it than recent weeks.
Head to Head
Played: 17,
Wins: Brisbane 10, Wellington 2,
Draws: 5
Previous encounter
Brisbane 2-1 Wellington, January 1 2013
The Betting Verdict
Brisbane are favourites here, but I do believe taking a 16 hour return flight mid week to play 120 minutes of losing football in the tropics is not going to do the Roar any favours today.
The Phoenix will most likely concede a goal or two but will press hard for the whole game and find the net themselves.
I don’t think this game is going to be the morale boosting win that Brisbane( and most of Australia) are thinking. Phoenix probably feel they have nothing to lose and could even share the points.
The Pick :
Brisbane Roar 2 - 2 Wellington Phoenix
BEST BETTING TIP :
Shrimp on the Barbie (main Bet)Take “Both teams to score” @ $1.73 at Paddy Power
If you were after a side salad with that (really small bet) ...
Take BRISBANE to be UP at Half Time/ but to end in a DRAW @ $19.00
