The second week of A-League tipping for season 2024-25 threw up a few more surprises than the first and poor performances that will have at least a couple of coaches concerned early in the season.
Mike Tuckerman again set the standard, but only just this time, and the tipping across the board was poor. Round 3 looks as tricky as they come, with the New Zealand Derby headlining on Saturday afternoon and the Wanderers and Reds occupying the prime time Saturday night slot.
Central Coast and Perth will be in action in Gosford in the twilight earlier that day, Victory hosts Macarthur on Sunday afternoon and Western United and Melbourne City do battle in what looks an important early season Victorian derby.
The action kicks off tomorrow when the well rested Roar take on Sydney FC in Queensland and good luck with your selections for the round. Be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say in the voice of the people.
Join me for a live blog of the Victory v Macarthur clash on Sunday and here are the thoughts of the panel on all of the Round 3 possibilities.
Mike Tuckerman
Sydney, Wellington, Central Coast, Wanderers, Victory, Draw
Brisbane Roar arguably benefited from the bye last week, having been overwhelmed by Auckland in their opening clash. They’ll need to fire on all cylinders to match a Sydney FC outfit teeming with match winners, but look a little short on class. The Sky Blues will want to put behind them a frustrating week, but they should have too much firepower here.
The Kiwi grudge match is finally here, and judging by how put out many Wellington fans seem to be by Auckland’s arrival, this one should be a belter. The Phoenix did just enough to see off the Glory in Perth last weekend, but they’ll need no extra motivation here. Auckland have had an easy ride of things so far, but this is their first real test. I’m tipping the Nix in an upset.
I thought the Mariners might struggle in their trip to Adelaide last weekend, but the defending champions are made of stern stuff. They were good value for their 1-1 draw and they’ll have little to fear from the visit of Perth Glory. At some point, David Zdrilic’s side will need to make an impact. But they look well short on quality and could come undone once again in Gosford.
The Wanderers got off to the perfect start in Tarneit last weekend, only to find themselves pegged back by a persistent Western United. They’re gradually finding their way into the new campaign, but coach Alen Stajcic will know the importance of securing early wins. Adelaide United rarely enjoy the trip to Parramatta, and it’s hard to see them taking anything here.
Victory were helped by a diabolical performance from Melbourne City last weekend, but even then, they looked impressive. The jury is still out on whether Paddy Kisnorbo is the right man to lead them, but they’ll be desperate to avenge their Australia Cup Final defeat to the Bulls. Macarthur threw away a point against the Jets and may come up short again.
Western United are on the march again, with this Melbourne Cup Eve clash taking place at AAMI Park. They were decent value for their point against the Wanderers in Tarneit, even if John Aloisi’s side look a little short on match winners. Melbourne City turned in a dire display in their 3-1 derby defeat, and this Monday night showdown could finish all square.
Stuart Thomas
Brisbane, Wellington, Central Coast, Western Sydney, Victory, United
It will be curious to see how Sydney FC respond to a loss on the back of a busy week and the disappointment of letting points slip against Auckland in a game they looked like winning. Joe Lolley’s absence is a big problem and Roar can get the points at home in this one.
The first ever New Zealand Derby will go the way of Wellington. Auckland have been a little lucky thus far and I think that temporarily runs out this Saturday. The Mariners should account for a Perth Glory side that needs another 30-40 per cent improvement to be in the hunt and the Wanderers will finally show some quality when they account for the Reds in Parramatta on Saturday night.
After a slow start to the season, Central Coast are looking to recapture the magic that saw them win consecutive A-League championships. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Victory and Macarthur is a Sunday afternoon beauty and join me for a live call of the match from 4pm (AEDT). With the home side finding excellent rhythm in last week’s derby, they look the likely winners.
The round ends at AAMI Park and Melbourne City will need something far better than what they produced last week if they are to topple Western United on home soil. Ibusuki scoring again and United off to a decent start for the season with its first win.
David Shilovsky
The Sky Blues were unlucky to be downed by Auckland and with no continental travel to navigate this week, Sydney will get the job done at Suncorp Stadium over a Brisbane outfit still finding their feet under the guidance of new manager Ruden Zadkovich.
In the first-ever Kiwi Clasico, Auckland will continue their 100 per cent start to life in the A-League. Steve Corica’s side look more cohesive than the Nix but won’t have it all their own way in the nation’s capital, a 2-1 victory for the Black Knights.
Central Coast host the struggling Perth in the Saturday twilight clash, and I can’t see a more positive Glory result. They stemmed the bleeding somewhat last time out but are just not competitive right now. Mariners to get their first win of 2024-25.
Adelaide’s visit to CommBank Stadium is bit more difficult to predict, with the Reds only having one game under their belts, while Western Sydney are still winless despite two reasonably good performances in their opening fixtures. Juan Mata could be the difference here, I’ll go with the home side.
Macarthur followed up their shellacking of Perth with a disappointing loss to Newcastle after controlling the game up to Eli Adams’ intervention. Patrick Kisnorbo’s men will be full of confidence following the big derby win and should get the job done at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Closing the round with some rare Monday night football (not the New England Patriots kind), I foresee a draw between Melbourne City and Western United. Neither side have shown much quality going forward – so goals will be hard to come by in the Cup Eve clash. 1-1.
Andrew Prentice
Sydney, Draw, Central Coast, Western Sydney, Victory, Draw
Despite a quick Intrepid tour of Asia last week, Sydney only came unstuck in Auckland in the last minute. More refreshed, and just up the road (in comparison) they should be too strong for the Roar, who don’t have a form guide to follow. Except both teams have lost to the new boys. Sky Blues by two.
A historic NZ derby between the top two in the Australian league who are both… NZ teams. Hopefully, the Cake Tin is heaving for this one, which isn’t promising a lot of goals. Hard to split them, so I’m tipping a low-or-no scoring draw. If Jake Brimmer starts, I might live to regret the tip. Defences will rule.
At some point, Perth will deliver on their pre-season promise. The bruises are fading from their thrashing in Round 1. The reigning champs have at least started this season better than the last, and while losing in the Champions League, have looked better each outing. Mikael Doka’s attacking output could be the Glory’s undoing. At home, the Mariners should be too strong.
The Wanderers have looked great in patches over two games. The trick is putting it together for 90 minutes. They have the chance against an underdone Adelaide, who themselves looked short of a gallop last week. Brandon Borrello looked sharp against Western United and will trouble the Reds defence, which just hung on against the Mariners.
Victory bolted out of the corner last week and hit their City rivals with a one-two combo worthy of the great Muhammad Ali. Macarthur turned Jekyll against the Jets – the memory of their dismantling of Perth washed away in an inexplicable capitulation to Newcastle.
Victory’s attacking prowess seems on paper to be greater than the Jets, so the Bulls defence will have a lot of red flags waved in their faces. This should be a high-scoring win for the home side.
With Western now entrenched in a permanent home (love the name Ironbark too), there seems to be some much-needed stability at the club. Two competitive come-from-behind draws have started their season. City have flattered to deceive and were caught asleep by Victory last week.
With little to split the sides form-wise, I’m tipping a stalemate and Western to take the early “draw specialists” tag.
Texi Smith
Sydney, Wellington, Perth, Western Sydney, Victory, United
There is no respite for Sydney FC as their busy schedule takes them to Suncorp, and the mounting injury toll could make this extra-tough. Sydney to weather the storm and jag a second-half goal from the cultured Anthony Caceres, the visitors grinding out a precious win on the road.
Anthony Caceres has been one of Sydney’s best early in the season. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Kiwi football banter will be at full volume leading into the first derby, and it will be an utter thriller. Steve Corica’s Auckland FC will come out with the belief that they can beat anyone, but will be held at the break. A second-half five-goal triller culminating in a late winner from Hideke Ishige sees Wellington Phoenix replace their cousins at the top of the ladder after three rounds.
Central Coast Mariners will be looking at this fixture to kick start their premiership defence. Home ground advantage at the most picturesque stadium in the world will be paramount. But this is the A-League – expect the unexpected – and an early goal from Nicholas Pennington has Glory in a shock lead.
The Mariners roar to life in the second half, but Oli Sail is unbeatable and Abdelelah Faisal slides home a second to kill the game off at a stunned Central Coast Stadium.
The Wanderers are building to their first win. Whilst they don’t yet appear to have the cutting edge of last season, a midfield containing Bozhidar Kraev and Juan Mata is a mouth-watering prospect. With a stubborn Adelaide United frustrating the bumper Saturday night crowd, it takes a moment of magic from Nicolas Milanovic to tear down the wing and drop a cross right onto the head of Marcus Antonsson for the only goal of the game.
Macarthur FC were shocked by the Jets last week, while Melbourne Victory were terrific in the derby. There can only be one winner, and Victory will be two goals up at the break before unleashing their second wave of attack from the bench and confirming their Australia Cup revenge with a Bruno Fornaroli bicycle kick.
Western United are forced back to AAMI Park to play their local rivals on Monday night, and with most eyes on the public holiday and the horse racing on Tuesday, this might be the forgotten game. The Melbourne City line-up is strong, but the depth from the bench is not there, and that will be evident when United’s Noah Botic stoops to head home from close range only a minute after appearing from the bench in the second half. Western to win.
| Round 3 | Mike | Stuart | David | Andrew | Texi | Crowd |
| BRI v SYD | SYD | BRI | SYD | SYD | SYD | ? |
| WEL v AUK | WEL | WEL | AUK | DRAW | WEL | ? |
| CCM v PER | CCM | CCM | CCM | CCM | PER | ? |
| WSW v ADL | WSW | WSW | WSW | WSW | WSW | ? |
| MVC v MAC | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC | MVC | ? |
| WUN v MCY | DRAW | WUN | DRAW | DRAW | WUN | ? |
| Last week | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
As always, get involved as part of The Crowd and take on The Roar’s experts using the form below.
Stuart Thomashttps://https://ift.tt/lTtcoPx Tipping: Round 3 – All eyes on Kiwi Clasico, Perth under pressure
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