Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
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Today’s free tip is in the Australian A-League encounter between Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers.
I’ve actually been impressed with Glory in recent weeks; the A-League table has been somewhat unkind to them. However, they were kicked in the nuts before the Adelaide United game when McEneff was ruled out through injury. They still defended well enough but they offered so little going forward without the Irishman barring a fifteen-minute spell in the second-half. It was too easy for Adelaide United, and they weren’t especially good either.
McEneff will sit out at least another couple of weeks so the same problems are likely to exist for Glory here. In fact, I think it’ll be worse for them because at least Adelaide United attacked them, leaving some gaps to exploit. Western Sydney Wanderers don’t play as adventurously as that. They’re a possession team. Sure, they like to play in their opponents’ half but they’re not reckless; they can’t afford to be because their centre-backs have no pace.
Western Sydney Wanderers do control games well though. They sit on leads well, and now they’ve got all of their main men back to hurt opposing teams too. That’s been their biggest problem this season – damaging opponents. That’s largely because they’ve only got three players that can do it – Yengi, Ninkovic, and Ngbakoto. The first two have been injured of late, and the latter has only just ‘emerged’ as a reliable creative threat. Yengi is ready to rock ‘n’ roll but I still think that the inclusion of Ninkovic in this squad is pure mind games, and possibly even Ngbakoto too, given the injury he picked up last weekend too.
Still, Western Sydney Wanderers are confident at the moment. They claimed a first ever victory over Macarthur FC in a recent Sydney derby, running out 4-0 winners. It wasn’t a massacre, but it was a completely one-sided affair from a tactical standpoint. Western Sydney Wanderers took their chances well, defended resolutely, and expertly picked when to get forward and when not to. If they play like that in Perth, then I don’t doubt that they’ll win. Still, I don’t trust them against overly energetic teams; Roar showed what such outfits can do to do them recently, and Glory certainly fit the bill there.
I don’t see Glory being able to find a way through here either though, not without a lot of luck. Star striker Taggart can’t play until next weekend when the transfer window opens, which means David Williams is up front – I like the guy, but he’s no finisher. Without McEneff their final pass is usually lacking despite the best efforts of Ryan Williams. Jelacic and Colli both have something special but it’s rather ad hoc because of their age. Keep in mind that Glory prefer a 5-4-1, too – not the most adventurous of formations out there because they know that if they’re to concede the first goal, then they’re screwed.
In fact, that’s my only real concern for this pick – Glory falling behind. Adelaide United may not have been very good last time out but they could have scored three in the last fifteen minutes alone because Glory looked exhausted when having to push men forward to get back into it. Western Sydney Wanderers aren’t as adventurous as Adelaide United but they are more clinical so if such chances were to go their way, then we’re in trouble. Other than that though, I expect another frustrating, low-scoring affair.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Friday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Melbourne Victory vs Brisbane Roar
Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Standard de Liege vs Sint-Truiden
English FA Cup:
Manchester United vs Everton
French Coupe de France:
Pau vs Montpellier HSC
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Angers SCO
La Berrichone de Chateauroux vs Paris Saint-Germain
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Twente Enschede vs FC Emmen
Portuguese Liga 1:
SL Benfica vs Portimonense
Famalicao vs Vizela
Spanish Primera Liga:
Elche vs Celta de Vigo
Valencia vs Cadiz
Enjoy your free betting tips!