Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory Prediction & Betting Tips - A-League

Prediction published on 11/04/2024, 19:00  by Ian John in Football Predictions

Wellington Phoenix face Melbourne Victory in a 2nd v 3rd clash in the Australian A-League on Friday morning (8am kick off, UK Time). The New Zealanders lie second in the table on goal difference, level on 46 points with top of the table Central Coast Mariners, losing top spot after their last game saw them go down to a 2-1 defeat to the team that usurped them at the top of the table. They now face the Victory having already faced them twice this season, drawing both games 1-1. With just three games left of the regular season, before the top six move into the Finals stage of the season, the race to secure one of the top two seeds is on, which is what makes this game between two of the top three so important . Wellington have won all their last four at home, losing just once this season.

Melbourne Victory come into this game with just three defeats all season, but they have drawn 11 of their games and won just 10, which is why they are third in the table, five points behind both Phoenix and the Mariners. However, Victory's recent form is good with three wins and a draw in their last four and they have scored two goals in all of those games (as well as conceding goals in each of those games too). Tony Popovic's team had lost three of their last five prior to that, which saw them caught in the table by both the Mariners and the Phoenix. They have the third best defense in the A-League this season, behind the two teams above them in the table and the fourth best attacking record. They have also lost the fewest amount of games this season, but drawn the most.