Newcastle Jets vs Macarthur FC
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Today’s free tip is in the early kick-off (5:05am, UK time, hence the early posting of this tip) in Australia between Newcastle Jets and Macarthur FC.
You know, I think Macarthur FC will enjoy next week’s game against Sydney FC more than they enjoy games like today’s in Newcastle. They’ve simply not gotten to grips yet with teams that sit deep and let them have the ball. Sydney FC won’t do that; they’ll have a go at their new neighbours, and it’s when they have space that Macarthur FC remind opponents of how good they can be. Newcastle Jets away though? I think it’ll be a nightmare for them.
I backed Wellington Phoenix to beat Macarthur FC last time out, and they absolutely should have done. The game went exactly as I thought it would – until there was a completely unfair and inaccurate red card for Rufer. That saw the Kiwis shell-shocked for a few minutes, Macarthur FC equalised with a fine strike, and it ended that way with Wellington Phoenix still looking the more comfortable team, even with ten men! The referee bailed Macarthur FC out in that game; that won’t happen every week though. They need to find a solution to breaking teams down and what that is, I just don’t know.
I’ve been quite open about stating that Newcastle Jets are not in a good place right now. On paper, there’s a great deal of imbalance in their squad because their defence is good and experienced (despite the absence of defensive utility man Kantarovski) but their attack is bland, predictable, and seriously lacking in good finishers. In both the match against Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets created chances (and plenty of them) but barely took any. That cannot be considered a surprise, though – there’s no goal-scorer, and no match-winner in this squad any longer, even with Abbas joining.
However, despite the Newcastle Jets’ woes, I do think that they’re tenacious enough to scare the hell out of Macarthur FC today, enough so to stop their opponents from wanting to push forward as much as they really should. I mean, let’s face it – Macarthur FC are comfortably the better of the two teams on paper. The only solution to such is for Newcastle Jets to work harder, and work smarter. They’re good enough at both to make their presence known here, in my opinion. They win most balls in the air, are happy to send men forward and back, and have more than enough speed and good movement in attack to ask questions of their opponents. It’s just that, as I said above, they don’t have any good finishers, which is why they’re in for a shitty campaign.
Macarthur FC have better finishers, and they have a good defence too. Everything feels very pedestrian with them though. The ball is moved way too slowly, there’s a real absence of players running at opponents (barring new youngster Rose), and the service into Derbyshire is genuinely non-existent. If I said to you that their best attacking player this season has been full-back Franjic, would you even believe me? It’s true though, as he’s the only one that provides a little bit of an x-factor going forward. They need to speed up, the Sydney club, both in terms of how fast they run, and how swiftly they move the ball.
Until that happens, I refuse to believe that they’re worth backing to win such encounters as this. I toyed with backing the Jets to get something from the game but the bookies have rightly sat on the fence here so there’s no value on that front. With the Jets unable to regularly convert their opportunities though, and Macarthur FC struggling to even create opportunities, backing under 2.5 goals appeals to me here.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 9/10.
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:
Newcastle Jets vs Macarthur FC
Austrian Bundesliga:
Wolfsberger AC vs Sturm Graz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent vs Antwerp
Cercle Brugge vs Standard de Liege
Germinal Beerschot vs Club Brugge
Sint-Truiden vs OH Leuven
Brazilian Serie A:
Santos vs Botafogo
Athletico Paranaense vs Sao Paulo
Atletico Mineiro vs Atletico Goianiense
Ceara vs RB Bragantino
Internacional vs Fortaleza
Czechia Liga 1:
Pardubice vs Ceske Budejovice
Marila Pribram vs Viktoria Plzen
Banik Ostrava vs Sparta Prague
English Premier League:
Sheffield United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool vs Manchester United
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois vs Stade Rennais
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Racing Club Lens
OGC Nice vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Racing Club Strasbourg vs AS Saint-Etienne
Lille OSC vs Stade de Reims
Olympique Lyonnais vs Metz
German Bundesliga:
Bayern Munich vs SC Freiburg
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Schalke 04
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Darmstadt 98
Holstein Kiel vs Karlsruher SC
Jahn Regensburg vs SV Sandhausen
Italian Serie A:
SSC Napoli vs ACF Fiorentina (5) 1-0
Crotone vs Benevento
Sassuolo vs Parma
Atalanta Bergamo vs Genoa
Internazionale vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Pescara vs Cremonese
Empoli vs Salernitana
Dutch Eredivisie:
RKC Waalwijk vs Willem II
FC Groningen vs FC Twente Enschede
VVV Venlo vs SC Heerenveen
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Portuguese Liga 1:
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Moreirense
Santa Clara vs Famalicao
Gil Vicente vs Maritimo Funchal
Portuguese Liga 2:
Academico Viseu vs UD Oliveirense
Feirense vs FC Porto II
Arouca vs Mafra
Varzim vs Casa Pia
Swiss Super League:
FC Sion vs Lugano
Turkish Super Lig:
Denizlispor vs Hatayspor
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Rizespor
Besiktas JK vs Galatasaray
Enjoy your free betting tips!