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Melbourne Victory vs WS Wanderers
When: Friday, April 23 – 19:00 AEST
Where: Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia
Weather: Cloudy, 15°C
Referee: Alireza Faghani
Things have been better for the Melbourne side who have managed only three wins in 16 games this season. To make matters worse, Victory also hold an unenviable record for the most goals conceded (42) out of all A-League teams,
With title way out of their reach, the most Victory can hope for are a couple of consolation victories, one of which they’ll look to secure on Friday. But, can the four-time A-League champions achieve that feat against the unconvincing WS Wanderers?
Victory Could Escape the Bottom of the A-League
A win on Friday would see Melbourne Victory bounce over Newcastle Jets and move off the bottom of the table. Given how unconvincing Victory have been this season, however, almost no one expects them to make much happen here.
Melbourne Victory are 3-2-11 on the season with only 11 points. Although they still have two games in hand to Jets, Victory are still seven points behind Perth Glory in 10th.
Victory don’t necessarily have a main issue they need to work on, since they are bad on both sides of the pitch. They have scored only 15 goals and conceded 42 – both the worst marks in A-League.
On a more positive note, things started to look up for Victory of late. They’re 1-1-3 in their last five with draws against Central Coast Mariners (1-1) and a 2-1 win against Newcastle Jets.
Is that a sign of good things to come? Perhaps, but we can be sure things will change in Victory, with the sacking of Grant Brebner following their 0-7 loss against Melbourne City.
WS Wanderers Desperate For Points
Having failed to win a single match in over a month, WS Wanderers are in danger of dropping to eighth if they don’t win on Friday.
Seeing this team end the season in the bottom half of the table is nothing new. However, it would be a shame if Wanderers wouldn’t take advantage of the position they’re in.
Carl Robinson’s men biggest problem of late was their leaky defence. They’ve conceded 13 goals in their last seven games. That’s half as much as they have this entire season.
On a more positive note, Bruce Kamau has been in good scoring form, with three goals across the last three games. He put in two against Mariners and added one against Roar last time out.
WS Wanderers are 0-3-2 in their last five, with losses against City (1-4) and Brisbane Roar (1-2), and three draws against Roar (1-1), Mariners (2-2), and Adelaide United (1-1). Not a great record, but it could definitely be worse.
Melbourne Victory vs WS Wanderers Betting Tips
Victory have been making progress, with four points from their last four games, but they’ll need to show a bit more on Friday to improve upon that.
When these sides last met, Wanderers, came away with a 2-0 victory, albeit it wasn’t a clean win. Wanderers saw just 3/13 of their shots hit the target – hardly better than Victory’s 3/9.
Both sides will be motivated to turn things around after a shaky run of late, but perhaps the motivation will be greater on the side of A-League bottom feeders.
A win here would move Victory off the bottom of the ladder, whereas a victory for the visitors would boost their chances to make it to the finals. With a lot on the line, one team could walk away from the match very happy, but due to their iffy showings, we just might see them shake hands and part ways with one point apiece.
Prediction: Melbourne Victory +0.75 AH
Prediction: Melbourne Victory to win
