It’s fair to say that both of these clubs will be happy to farewell A-League season 2024/25 after this fixture.
Over the last 12 months, the Nix have gone from contending for trophies to being glad they have avoided the wooden spoon, which will reside in Perth after their last place finish was confirmed in Round 28.
There really is not much on the line here and the risk with these dead rubbers is that the players become all to aware of the lack of stakes which points towards a pretty dire contest.
Both sides were involved in 1-0 defeats last weekend and the under looks to be the way to go here.
BEST: Under 3.5 Goals $1.53 | VALUE: Under 1.5 Goals $4.50
Another dead rubber makes up the back end of Friday’s double header with the Roar locked in to 12th place and Central Coast likely ending up in 10th a year after winning a trio of trophies.
The Mariners would have been hoping that this match served as a perfect finals warm up but instead they have to try and find some form ahead of the Australia Cup Playoffs in Darwin.
Brisbane at least has played itself into some positive results, picking up a win and two draws from their three game home stand over the last fortnight.
That at least explains why the Roar are favoured but scoring remains a major concern for both of these teams and another grind of a game looks set to unfold.
BEST: Under 3.5 Goals $1.55 | VALUE: Under 1.5 Goals $4.50
We have to wait until Saturday for the first properly meaningful game of the weekend, but the stakes are super high in this light blue derby.
A win for Melbourne City would lock up second spot and a bye in the first round of the A-League Finals, while anything else would open the door for Western United to overtake them.
Sydney will be hoping for at least a point from this match because a loss would end their season, but a win or draw would pull them above the idle Adelaide United into sixth place.
However it has been over two years since Sydney have won a match against City in the league and you can’t help but think Aurelio Vidmar will have his side primed for a response after a couple of rough draws.
Given this is shaping up as a de facto final for both of these teams, this has all the makings of a low scoring affair and another game where the under is going to be good value on top of a City win.
BEST: Melbourne City to Win $1.90 | VALUE: Melbourne City to Win and Under 2.5 Goals $5.75
Those in attendance at Ironbark Fields will have one eye on the live score app of their choice as Western United faces the newly crowned premiers.
John Aloisi’s side will need to better Melbourne City’s result to steal second place, and even if that match does not go their way they will have to win to lock up third place with Western Sydney and Melbourne Victory in position to take advantage of any slip up.
If Auckland had anything to play for in this fixture that might be a big ask, however Steve Corica’s men will be prioritising getting through this 90 minutes in one piece ahead of their maiden finals appearance.
While Western United’s form over the last couple of weeks has been far from perfect, their 1-0 win over Sydney showcased a phenomenal level of resilience and that should see them over the line here.
BEST: Western United to Win $1.95 | VALUE: Draw/Western United HT/FT $5.00
Macarthur’s sole motivation for this match is pettiness, hoping to ruin Western Sydney’s quest for a top four finish (or higher) by taking some points off them in the final round.
Unfortunately for the Australia Cup champions, their finals hopes were extinguished last Friday when they went down to Melbourne Victory 2-1, leaving them on the outside of the top six looking in.
As much as they would love to cause some problems for the Wanderers, Alen Stajcic’s side have been on a tear, going 11 matches unbeaten with seven wins in that time.
Their least two wins and four of the seven during that streak have come with a clean sheet and it’s well worth backing at the current price.
BEST: Western Sydney to Win $2.00 | VALUE: Western Sydney to Win to Nil $4.80
For a brief period in February, it looked like the Jets would be able to surge into finals contention, especially when they beat the Victory 3-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium as part of seven game unbeaten streak.
But since that run came to an end, the Jets have lost four, drawn one and won one and that win came against a desolate Mariners side that played the entire second half with ten players.
Meanwhile, the Victory will likely be eager to continue their strong run of results, winning three of their last four with the one loss coming against Auckland.
Even if they have nothing to gain from this match in terms of final standing on the ladder, the Victory should come out and make short work of the Jets.
BEST: Victory HT/FT Double $2.10 $ | VALUE: Melbourne Victory to Win First Half -1 Goal @ $4.00