Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar Prediction & Betting Tips - A-League

Prediction published on 27/12/2023, 19:30  by Devesh Jaganath in Football Predictions

Melbourne City will play host to the Brisbane Roar in the A-League Men on Thursday. The hosts are seventh in the league standings, while the visitors are fifth. Last season’s champions, Melbourne City, have made a poor start to the season by their own standards. They have managed to take just 12 points from their first nine matches with a record of three wins, three draws and three losses. Last time out, the hosts played out a 0-0 draw against cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory. That result marked their third consecutive draw in all competitions, following a 3-3 match against Central Coast Mariners and a 1-1 outcome against Zhejiang in the AFC Champions League. In five home matches this season, Melbourne have only won once while drawing three and losing the other. Still, they did win the last match against this opponent 2-1 last season and are the favourites in this one. 

Meanwhile, Brisbane Roar have made a positive start to the season after only managing an eighth-placed finish last term. They are in the top half of the standings and have taken 14 points from their first nine games. To date, the visitors have posted a record of four wins, two draws and three losses. Brisbane suffered a second consecutive defeat in their last outing, losing 3-0 against the Central Coast Mariners, which followed a 2-1 loss to Western United a week earlier. On the road this season, Roar have taken seven of a possible 15 points (W2 D1 L2), though they have scored at least once in each of their away games. While they have not won any of their last four matches against this opponent, the visitors will feel they are in with a chance here, owing to Melbourne’s poor form in the early-season.