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Macarthur FC vs Melbourne City
When: Saturday, April 24 – 19:10 AEST
Where: Campbelltown Stadium, Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia
Weather: Clear, 12°C
Referee: Shaun Evans
After a commanding 7-0 win against Melbourne Victory last time out, Melbourne City will look to keep their fire going and hand Macarthur FC their second h2h loss of the season.
City will look towards their top scorer Jamie Maclaren to led them to victory. He has found the back of the net 19 times this season and has scored at least once in all but one of his last 10.
Macarthur FC struggled to stop Maclaren last time out, but have they found the formula to do so here
Macarthur FC Strong Debut Season
Macarthur FC are enjoying quite a successful debut in A-League. The league newcomers are 8-3-7 on the season with 27 points, which is good for a fifth spot in the league.
That said, they haven’t been too impressive of late. The Bulls are 2-1-2 across their last five and have not won a single match in their last three.
After picking up two wins against Wellington Phoenix (1-0), and Perth Glory (2-0), Macarthur FC cooled down. They went on to drop points against Brisbane Roar (1-2), Adelaide United (1-3), and Newcastle Jets (2-2).
Macarthur’s biggest weakness across those five, and throughout most of the season was their defense. They’ve conceded seven goals in their last three and 26 in 18 games.
Macarthur conceded at least one goal in 78% and at least two in 56% of their games. On a more positive note, they have kept a clean sheet in 22% of their games this far.
Even Macarthur’s strikers haven’t been too solid of late. They have scored only 23 goals this season, almost half of which came via Matt Derbyshire who is currently the second-best goal scorer in the league with 11 to his name.
At home, Macarthur are 3-3-3 on the season with 14 goals in 13 games. That said, their defensive issues persist even on home turf with 13 goals conceded in nine games.
Melbourne City Show No Signs of Slowing Down
Melbourne City enters this match off a historic 7-0 win against Melbourne Victory. With that win, City are now the league leaders with a 10-1-5 record and 31 points.
Although City are only one point clear of Central Coast Mariners in second, they still have one game in hand. That, however, should give them a false sense of security, since a loss tonight would put them in danger of losing their shot at the title.
With their thrashing of Victory, City are not the best scoring team in the league with 38 goals in 16 games. Most of those goals came via Jamie Maclaren, who has scored 19, five of which against Victory on Saturday.
While there are arguments to be made City’s numbers are inflated due to their two commanding wins over Victory, this is still one of the best-attacking team in the league. City have scored at least once in 78% of their games, twice in 44% and have managed three or more in 11%.
And it’s not only their offense that makes City a dangerous team. The current A-League frontrunners have conceded only 18 goals in 16 games (0.89 per game) and boast a +20 GD.
Macarthur FC vs Melbourne City Betting Picks
These sides last met in March at AAMI Park, when City won 3-0, largely thanks to Maclaren, who scored twice. City were the better team that day, shooting the ball 4/17 on target with 50% possession.
The Bulls, meanwhile, managed only 2/12 on target and were never really in a position to get themselves ahead. The question is, however, whether Macarthur can improve upon that performance and defeat City at home?
The simple answer to that would be: likely not. Even though Macarthur have had a few solid showings this season, their 2-2 draw with the Newcastle Jets last time out doesn’t convince us they can make much happen tonight. That is especially concerning since they’re facing the hottest team in the league.
Outside of their 1-2 loss against Western United at the start of the month, City haven’t disappointed with their performances. The Bulls are good, but City are much better.
Prediction: Melbourne City to win
