Melbourne Victory Vs Western Sydney Wanderers

In the final match of the day, following the clash between Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, Melbourne Victory will play host to Western Sydney Wanderers as the two A-League teams look to claim their second W of the new season.

When: Friday, October 15 – 19:45 AEDT
Where: AAMI Park in Melbourne, Australia
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 14°C

Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers last met in March when they parted ways with a 1-1 draw at AAMI Park. It marked the first head-to-head draw since 2017, but according to the latest odds, it’s fair to say that Victory won’t give away any points on Saturday.

Melbourne Victory – Strong Start To The Season

Melbourne Victory took down Sydney FC (3-2) in the season opener at Allianz Stadium, with goals in 31’, 67’, and 83’ via Nick D’Agostino, Chris Ikonimidis, and Josh Brilliante, respectively.

It was a solid showing from Victory, who delivered in front of home fans, who will be eager to see their team go up six points on Saturday. The optimism is, however, somewhat overshadowed by Victory’s head-to-head record against WS Wanderers.

Over the last five meetings between the two sides, Melbourne Victory have won just once – in a high-scoring (5-4) affair in April 2021. WS Wanderers won the remaining three, while their last meeting in March ended in a 1-1 draw.

Still, there’s no denying that Melbourne Victory looks much stronger than WS Wanderers and usually performs well at home. In contrast, WS Wanderers’ are anything but stable travellers, having won just two of 13 away games last season for a total of 10 away points (2-4-7).

Western Sydney Wanderers – The Rudan Magic

Over their last 13 fixtures, WS Wanderers have lost just three, which strongly indicates that Mark Rudan has to be doing something right. And the sense of optimism is there, following WS Wanderers’ successful start to the 2022/23 A-League campaign.

The Wanderers kicked off the new season with a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at CommBank Stadium, and despite the minimal victory, WS Wanderers played well. Moreover, Sulejman Krpic left an immediate mark in his debut, scoring the game-winning goal, converting one of the Wanderers’ 12 attempts (6 on goal).

For this match, WS Wanderers will again look at the Bosnian to cause some issues for the hosts, and we wouldn’t dare to say he won’t be able to find the back of the net. Krpic proved himself as a very potent striker (15 goals in 34 games) last season, but he also has numbers from previous years.

So while WS Wanderers have the tools to make something happen, they’ll still have to break through Victory’s defence, which is easier said than done.

Melbourne Victory vs Western Sydney Wanderers Betting Odds

Melbourne Victory are priced as 1.72 favourites (1.74 Pinnacle) for this bout, with a draw at 4.00 (4.08 Pinnacle) and WS Wanderers at 4.33 (4.73 Pinnacle).

Notably, the A-League betting odds haven’t changed by much since the market opened, when Victory were priced at 1.79, the draw at 4.00, and WS Wanderers at 4.30.

Melbourne Victory vs Western Sydney Wanderers A-League Betting Picks

This is one of the games you can’t help but feel excited about, even though it’s hard to believe we’ll see an upset. Melbourne Victory look and feel like a much stronger team, suggesting that they should come out on top without too much hassle.

That might not sound fair toward WS Wanderers, given their improvement, but they’re not a very effective away team going against one of the best home squads in the A-League.