Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets – A-League Betting Preview and Prediction
Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix will chase their first win of the season on Saturday, January 24, when they face off at the WIN Stadium. Here is our free betting prediction for Saturday’s A-League fixture.
Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets
When: Sunday, January 24 at 18:00 AEDT
Where: WIN Stadium
Weather: Cloudy, 24°C
Wellington Phoenix enter this match off a very solid performance against Macarthur FC at the Campbelltown Stadium on January 9, where the Nix secured a 1-1 draw. The hosts opened the scoring with a 39-minute goal and arguably should have won had Alex Rufer not received a red card in the 62nd minute, which was followed up by Macarthur’s equalizer in 67th.
It was quite a ridiculous red card, since he received it for sticking his leg out which had more to do with the way he landed after a jump rather than anything else. Nevertheless, Phoenix did an excellent job and should be proud of their showing perhaps just as much as I am.
Phoenix ended the game with 45% possession, shot the ball with 4/12 and completed 79% of their passes, which was good for 317/400. It’s also worth noting that Nix conceded 10 fouls, three yellows and the aforementioned red card.
Newcastle Jet’s last fixture happened last Wednesday when they faced Brisbane Roar and lost 1-2. It marked their third consecutive defeat with the same scoreline, which includes fixtures against WS Wanderers, Macarthur FC and of course Brisbane Roar.
In their fixture against Roar, Newcastle conceded a goal just six minutes in and it was not until the 38th minute when the Jets responded with a goal from Valentino Yuel, who scored his second goal for the club. Despite their solid effort in the second half and 11 goal attempts, the Jets managed only three shots on goal which was not enough to take the lead. Instead, it was Roar who surprised the Jets with a goal in the 61st minute, which proved to be enough to steal the win.
Newcastle Jets ended the match with 55% ball possession and shot the ball 6/21, which was significantly better than Roar who had 45% possession and shot the ball 2/4. Suffice to say, the Jets were a bit unlucky not to win this match, which should add some motivation to step up on the weekend.
Phoenix have won 6/11 of their previous meetings with Jets, meaning they have an edge, but a rather marginal one. The last time these two sides met was in Kogarah of August 2020 and it was all Newcastle. They won the match with 3-0 with goals coming in 45th, 76th and 79th minute. Jet shot the ball 5/14 that day and completed 88% of their passes.
Even though I am not too high on the Jets, I have confidence they will do more than fine against a weakened Phoenix side who haven’t played a single match since Saturday, January 9. This is perhaps Jet’s best chance to claim their first win of the season which they desperately need to finally get their wheels spinning.
I am expecting a lot from the ex-NPL turned A-League pro Yuel, who has scored two goals in Jet’s last two outings and will surely look to add another this weekend. He also had a shot assist against Macarthur and managed to win 6/12 duels, which are all fairly impressive marks for a player that was heavily criticized not too long ago.
When Yuel is in form, he is difficult to stop, largely due to his incredible speed and his exceptional football IQ, which helps him make things happen for his team. We are not siding with the Jets solely because of Yuel, but he is definitely a big factor in why the Jets are not to be ignored for this bout. Value bet on the Jets.
Prediction: Newcastle Jets to win – 4.07 at Pinnacle
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