Expect Victo to come out on top in this A-League encounter full of goals.
Melbourne Victo v Central Coast Mariners – Friday 11: 00, BT Sport 1
Melbourne Victo have had a disappointing end to the regular season: they’ve lost three and won just one of their last five, and while they are guaranteed second place, they look like they’re in poor form as they head into the playoffs. This week they host the Central Coast Mariners, who are playing for pride at this point, but the struggle between them, Adelaide and Newcastle to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon is still ongoing.
Despite underperforming recently, the Victo have been ve good at home this season. They’ve gone W9-D1-L2 over their last 12 at home, although they’ve conceded in each of the last nine games in that run, including against Central Coast earlier this season. Their recent loss against Wellington Phoenix was the first time over the last two seasons that they’ve lost against a bottom-half team at home, but given that the Mariners have lost 12 of 13 winless matches on the road against top-half teams over the same time frame we think the visitors will struggle to step up here. Furthermore, the visitors have lost six of their last eight away matches – it’s hard to see how they’ll keep the Victo at bay.
The bookies have the Victorfavoritess heavy favourites, but we think that they’ve been sufficiently leaky at home recently to back Central Coast to nab a goal. Victo and Both to Score looks like the way to go. Melbourne Victo and Both Teams To Score – 1pt @ 13/10
