In the “Land Down Under” the 7th round of A-League will take place on 8th of December. In that fixture, we will see Perth Glory hosting Melbourne City at NIB Stadium.
The home side, Perth Glory are currently sitting at the top of the league with an overall record of 4-2-0. In their past 5 games, Perth has won 4 and drew their most recent one against Wellington Phoenix (1:1) on the road. This was their first draw on the road, which puts their away record at 2-1-0. Taking a closer look at their match against Wellington Phoenix, it was the Phoenix who scored the 1st goal of the match in the 44th minute after a terrible mistake from Perth defence. The goal was not a surprise, as Phoenix was the dominant force in the first 45 minutes. They held a 65% ball possession and had 8 goal attempts (3 on goal), whereas Perth only had a 35% ball possession and 1 goal attempt without any shots on goal. The 2nd half saw Perth being the dominant team, with 67% ball possession, 8 goal attempts and 3 shots on goal, whereas Phoenix had only 33% ball possession, 6 goal attempts any 1 shot on goal. Despite that Phoenix held on well until Lowry received a red card, which was a questionable decision from a referee. A foul was made, but it was far from a red or even yellow card. A free kick would be deserved but a red card… It’s up to debate. After the red card, Perth started pushing for an equalizer and they got it in the 82nd minute. A match that should end with Phoenix winning ended in a draw after a highly questionable red card for Lowry. Final score: 1:1.
The visiting side, Melbourne City are currently 5th in the league, with an overall record of 3-1-2. In their last 5 games, they have won 2, lost 2 and draw 1. As for away games, City is 1-1-1 in the 3 games played. Looking at their most recent match against Newcastle Jets, Melbourne City showed they can be deadly even without Fornarolli. The match started with a 2nd-minute goal from City. The goal was scored from a corner kick which found McGee who scored a superb volley goal which put his team into a lead. The Jets almost equalized the match in 30th minute, from inside the penalty box, but Galekovic performed a great save and secured his team’s lead. The first half was closing to an end, however, Melbourne managed to score another spectacular goal in 45’+3, which put them into a 2 goal lead prior to the 2nd half. The first half was dominated by Melbourne City, but the second half was more in favour for Jets, who came close to scoring a goal on several occasions but failed to convert their chances. Instead, it was Melbourne who scored their 3rd goal in 75th minute, when Wales found himself alone in front of the Jets goalkeeper. The match ended in a huge win for Melbourne City, which was needed after a disappointing defeat against Brisbane Roars (2:0) on 24th of November. Final score: 3:0.
Looking at how Perth and Melbourne City performed in the recent matches, City proved to be a better side. Perth Glory is coming from a match that they should win, but from what they have shown us, the fair result would be a defeat. The red card for Phoenix is still a mystery for me and it arguably changes the course of the match, which gave Perth a point. City, on the other hand, played one of the best games this season. They completely dominated Newcastle Jets. The upcoming match should be a real test for Perth, who need to redeem themselves after their poor performance against Wellington Phoenix. Taking all into consideration, I expect Melbourne to put up a good fight, and quite frankly, from what I’ve seen from Perth they will struggle to get their 5th win of the season against Melbourne City.
Prediction: Melbourne City +0.25 Asian Handicap
Odds: 1.97 SBOBET
