Central Coast Mariners vs Melbourne City Prediction & Betting Tips - A-League

Prediction published on 17/03/2020, 07:54  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 19/03/2020 at 11:12 in Football Predictions

A-League action continues for the time being in Australia with a clash this Friday that pits teams from opposite sides of the table against each other, the lowly Central Coast Mariners hosting Melbourne City. The Mariners, bottom of the 11-team league, are in danger of anchoring the division for the third season in a row. They are seven points from safety and if results continue as they are, they won't get out of this jam in a hurry. Melbourne City, meanwhile, hold the second spot, which would see them enter the Finals series at the semi-final stage. They must be careful of Wellington Phoenix, one point behind, who could yet leapfrog them with their game in hand. Catching Sydney FC at the top seems extremely unlikely given the ten-point gap and Sydney's two games in hand.

Although their form has been patchy - winning only two of their last five games - City will be expecting to win this game. They are facing a Mariners team that have lost their last nine A-League matches in a row. The Mariners have only kept a clean sheet in one of their 21 games this season and, rather bizarrely, have only drawn one of those matches. The last two meetings between these teams have resulted in big wins for City, the aggregate score of victory being 8-1. City games tend to feature lots of goals with three or more being scored in 71 per cent of their A-League games in this campaign. Back the away team to win by two goals.