Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
Our in-play service continues to make profit so click here if you are interested in a free trial!
There are 12 bankers and 9 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see them + team news!
I genuinely detest what Melbourne City have done to the A-League this season. They’ve signed really talented attacking options, but play a horrible brand of football whereby they sit in front of their opponents and knock the ball from side to side, not really achieving anything. They’re not good enough to keep teams out, either, so it’s hardly a surprise that they’re not winning anywhere near as many games as they should be. They really are a terribly boring team that will not seek to score more than one goal in any game, and I’ve seldom seen such a talented attack with tremendous pace play in a game and yet not be a threat on the counter-attack because they don’t want to expose themselves by doing so. They’ve become pathetic, Melbourne City, and their fans are far from impressed. Who can blame them? Fornaroli, Colazo, Brandan, Brattan, Caceres, Cahill, Kamau – this is a really dynamic and varied attack that should be decimating teams. Instead, they’re playing as cowards, not damaging anybody, and generally not achieving anything.
Brisbane Roar are a good side, but boss Aloisi is a bit of a clown, and he tends to get his tactics wrong. He most likely picked up that particular trait during his time in charge of Melbourne City, although they were called Melbourne Heart back then. However, irrespective of his flaws as a manager, he tends to be able to stifle Melbourne City without much fuss, and I expect to see another example of that today.
Brisbane Roar are good at defending, which helps. They’ve got experienced Socceroos like North and DeVere to help out, and a good goalkeeper in Theo behind them. Corey Brown has replaced the retired Stefanutto well at left-back, too. So, yeah – defensively speaking, Roar look solid. In attack, Aloisi really struggles to get the best out of his players. A team containing Holman, Oar, MacLaren, and Broich should not be only just ahead of the bottom three teams when it comes to finding the back of the net – but they are. MacLaren has been benched lately, which is mind-boggling; he’s one of the fastest and deadliest strikers in the A-League, and Roar do not have any kind of replacement for him! Broich is a terrific playmaker, Oar is a good winger, and Holman drifts really well. It’s almost as if Aloisi doesn’t know how to play them all, though, because they seldom convince in the final third. Even when desperate for goals, they always seem to resort to pointless long balls, or passing in front of their opponents’ defence, which doesn’t get them anywhere against good teams. Much like their hosts, Brisbane Roar are rather boring, to be honest, and against a fellow boring side, it’s logical to expect that trend to continue.
However, in spite of North’s absence for the Roar, I am going to take on the away win here. Brisbane Roar have had Melbourne City in their pocket this season, and an explosive Melbourne derby last weekend has led to a boatload of suspensions for the home team. Regular shot-stopper Bouzanis, moneybags Cahill, tricky winger Brandan, playmaker Brattan, defensive utility men Malik and Muscat, and star striker Fornaroli are all suspended for this game. Furthermore, key defender Jacobsen is a big doubt for this fixture, so Melbourne City have basically been reduced to Sorensen, Caceres, Kamau, Colazo, and kids. Brisbane Roar may be tired from their trip to China (which they won, against the odds!) but their first team should really beat Melbourne City’s few good remaining players plus their kids.
To me, there’s clear value on the away team here.
Verdict: Brisbane Roar to win at 5/4.
Saturday’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 to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar
Austrian Bundesliga:
Admira Wacker vs SCR Altach
Salzburg vs St.Polten
Wolfsberger AC vs SV Ried
SV Mattersburg vs Sturm Graz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Mouscron-Peruwelz vs KV Oostende
Kortrijk vs KV Mechelen
Sporting Charleroi vs Westerlo
AA Gent vs AS Eupen
English Premier League:
Arsenal vs Hull City
Manchester United vs Watford
Middlesbrough vs Everton
Stoke City vs Crystal Palace
Sunderland vs Southampton
West Ham United vs West Bromwich Albion
Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur
Finnish Suomen Cup:
RoPS Rovaniemi vs OPS Oulu
HiFK Helsinki vs Gnistan
GrIFK vs FC Honka Espoo
PS Kemi Kings vs AC Oulu
SJK vs MuSa
Ekenas IF vs Legirus Inter
KPV Kokkola vs HauPa
VPS Vaasa vs Jaro Pietarsaari
FC Jazz vs SJK-Akatemia
IFK Mariehamn vs P-Iirot
French Ligue 1:
En Avant Guingamp vs Olympique Lyonnais
AS Nancy-Lorraine vs Montpellier HSC
Lille OSC vs Angers SCO
Dijon FCO vs Stade Malherbe de Caen
Toulouse vs Bastia
AS Monaco vs Metz
German Bundesliga:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Ingolstadt vs Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Darmstadt 98 vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig vs Hamburger SV
Schalke 04 vs Hertha Berlin
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Haifa
Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Hapoel Ashkelon
Hapoel Ra’anana vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
AC Fiorentina vs Udinese
Dutch Eredivisie:
Heracles Almelo vs Roda JC Kerkrade
Go Ahead Eagles vs ADO Den Haag
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Groningen
Vitesse Arnhem vs Willem II
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Tondela vs Feirense
Vitoria Setubal vs Chaves
Estoril vs Pacos de Ferreira
Vitoria Guimaraes vs FC Porto
Portuguese Segunda Liga:
Uniao Madeira vs Academica de Coimbra
Famalicao vs Sporting Braga II
FC Porto II vs Freamunde
Cova Piedade vs Penafiel
Sporting Covilha vs Portimonense
Fafe vs Olhanense
SL Benfica II vs Desportivo Aves
Varzim vs Leixoes Matosinhos
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Betis Balompie vs Valencia CF
Deportivo Alaves vs Barcelona CF
Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Deportivo La Coruna
CA Osasuna vs Real Madrid
Swiss Super League:
Thun vs Basel
Lugano vs Grasshopper Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
Winterthur vs Servette
Turkish Super Lig:
Alanyaspor vs Genclerbirligi
Osmanlispor vs Trabzonspor
Bursaspor vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!