Western Sydney Wanderers vs Perth Glory
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Today’s free tip is in the Australian A-League encounter between Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory. I’m a tad apprehensive about this one because when does any A-League team win as many games in a row as Perth Glory are about to, should they triumph in eastern Australia today? It just doesn’t happen, not in such a competitive division.
Still, I’m going to give the tip because, law of averages aside, it makes sense. After their defeat in New Zealand, Western Sydney Wanderers boss Babbel lamented his team’s inability to score goals. They were outfoxed in the first-half, and lucky to only be one down, but I thought they rallied really well after the break and deserved a leveller. It never came though, due to wasted opportunities. They’re just lacking in that one killer link-up man between midfield and attack to glue everything together, in my opinion. I still really like their squad though, and Babbel is a good tactician.
He’ll have to be a bloody wizard to cope without Baccus today though. He’s the one that keeps their midfield ticking nowadays, keeping possession, breaking up counters etc. Without him, and with O’Doherty not seemingly being risked right now, Western Sydney Wanderers basically don’t have a midfield. That’s a problem in most games, but can you imagine how damning it’d be against a very solid Perth Glory midfield that now has Juande back to partner Kilkenny? Against a Popovic team, the man who steered Western Sydney Wanderers to their biggest achievement? It’s a problem.
The home team have plenty of pace in wide positions, and full-backs that aren’t afraid to get forward. I would like to see Georgievski, Russell etc. delivering better crosses but it is what it is. On the whole though, I do like the squad. I like the project, and I like the manager. There’s really not that much wrong. It’s just that…well, what is wrong is particularly noticeable right now. I think it’ll be very evident against one of the best teams and best-organised teams in the division today too.
I backed Perth Glory to beat Adelaide United last weekend, and they did. Hurrahs all around. Honestly though, I was quite disappointed with Perth Glory. I don’t expect them to always have the ball or to not have any weaknesses. I recognise that Adelaide United are quite hard to deal with because of their energy and speed, and I appreciate that Popovic is happy for his team to play with minimal ball possession sometimes. The display still felt sloppy, though. Maybe it was the absence of Juande, I don’t know, but Perth Glory didn’t have enough authority in that game. They took their chances well; I was pleased with that. Let me put it like this; if they produce a display today like the one against Adelaide United, they run the risk of not winning the match.
Still, the beauty of Perth Glory right now is that they are taking their chances. Popovic’s punt on Chianese starting ahead of the superb Ikonomidis paid off with Chianese expertly rolling Kitto before burying the opener. It also paid dividends when Ikonomidis came on, clearly desperate to prove his worth, and he bagged their third well. Perth Glory have got great match-winners, basically. That’s true in most areas of the park but especially in their attack. I mean, in-form Fornaroli, Castro, Ikonomidis, overlaps from Davidson/Franjic, meticulous controllers like Juande and Kilkenny – how do you begin to stop a team like that?
For me, the only team that can stop Perth Glory is Perth Glory themselves, and they don’t often seem to want to stop themselves. They’re pretty damn good at everything, Perth Glory. They can hold leads well, counter-attack well, break teams down well, rip defences apart, score from set pieces etc. etc. For me, they’re the most complete team in Australia. Against a somewhat unconfident, Baccus-less Western Sydney Wanderers, I have to believe that it’ll show. Chances are that this game will be slow and tedious because the patience game suits both outfits. However, it’s Perth Glory that are scoring in such games, not their hosts, and that should be enough for them to win this one.
Verdict: Perth Glory to win at 11/10.
Sunday’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:
Western United vs Central Coast Mariners
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Perth Glory
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Cercle Brugge vs Antwerp
RSC Anderlecht vs Club Brugge
Zulte-Waregem vs Racing Genk
English Premier League:
Burnley vs Leicester City
Liverpool vs Manchester United
German Bundesliga:
Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich
Paderborn 07 vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
French Coupe de France:
Athletico Marseille vs Stade Rennais
Dijon FCO vs Nimes Olympique
Rouen vs Angers SCO
Montpellier HSC vs Stade Malherbe de Caen
Lorient vs Paris Saint-Germain
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Ra’anana
Italian Serie A:
AC Milan vs Udinese
Bologna vs Hellas Verona
Brescia vs Cagliari
Lecce vs Internazionale
Genoa vs AS Roma
Juventus vs Parma
Italian Serie B:
Pescara vs Salernitana
Spezia vs Cittadella
Benevento vs Pisa
Dutch Eredivisie:
VVV Venlo vs PSV Eindhoven
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Sparta Rotterdam
FC Emmen vs Heracles Almelo
ADO Den Haag vs RKC Waalwijk
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira vs Gil Vicente
Famalicao vs Maritimo Funchal
Rio Ave vs Boavista
Portuguese Liga 2:
Farense vs Sporting Covilha
Academico Viseu vs Chaves
Cova Piedade vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Casa Pia vs Varzim
Vilafranquense vs Penafiel
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Mallorca vs Valencia CF
Real Betis Balompie vs Real Sociedad
Villarreal CF vs RCD Espanyol
Athletic Club vs Celta de Vigo
Barcelona CF vs Granada CF
Turkish Super Lig:
Antalyaspor vs Goztepe
Trabzonspor vs Kasimpasa
Galatasaray vs Denizlispor
Besiktas JK vs Sivasspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!