A League Australian Football

Sydney FC became the first A-League club to hold all three major Australian football trophies in a calendar year when they squeezed past Adelaide United in a classic FFA Cup final on Tuesday night.

Former Serbia international Milos Ninkovic opened the scoring before Nikola Mileusnic levelled for the Reds. In extra-time, on the 111th minute, Brazilian Bobo headed a goal home for the Sky Blues to make history.

The win caps off a brilliant 12 months for Graham Arnold's charges, and the good times don't look like they are ending anytime soon with the champions holding a two-point lead at the summit of the A-League table.

This week's assignment comes on Saturday night, when they host Brisbane Roar at Allianz Stadium. As you would expect, the Sydneysiders are a $1.53 AUD favorite to win their sixth game from eight starts, according to AustralianGambling. The Queenslanders are out at $5.50, with a draw at $4.

Arnold's success has led to his name being thrown into the mix as a potential replacement for the now vacant Socceroos coaching role after Ange Postecoglou resigned from the position on Wednesday morning.

The Newcastle Jets, the side who came up short by a score of 2-1 against Sydney in the league last week, host Melbourne Victory on Thursday night in the first match of the round.

Victory finally got their first win of the campaign with a 2-0 victory out west against Perth Glory, thanks to goals from Besart Berisha and Leroy George.

Last season's runners-up are outsiders to make it two wins in a row, but only just at $2.50, while the Jets, who've been in good form after collecting 14 points from their opening seven games, are at $2.40.

Melbourne City sit just one point behind the Jets in third place and are expected to keep the pressure on the top two with a win over Perth Glory.

Despite losing 3-1 to Brisbane last week, City are $1.67 to secure all three points against the Glory ($4.50), who have slipped down to seventh on the table with two losses in as many games.

The Reds ($2.60) must dust themselves off after losing the FFA Cup final for a home match against Western Sydney Wanderers ($2.40) on Sunday night, while the bottom-placed Wellington Phoenix are a surprise favorite, at $2.10, to beat Central Coast Mariners ($3.25) on Saturday afternoon.

At the beginning of the A-League season the Newcastle Jets were given little hope of challenging for the championship, but last year's wooden spooners have taken all before them this year and now sit on top of the table.

Amazingly, the Jets have won four of their opening six outings, which is just one win shy of last season's total, which came from a full schedule of 27 games.

This week, they take on the reigning champion Sydney FC in the Harbour City, which is their biggest challenge of the season so far. It will give a real indicator of just how far Ernie Merrick's charges have come.

Despite being beaten for the first time this season last week, Sydney are the favorites to bounce straight back into the winner's circle at $1.67 on the betting lines, while the ladder-leaders are out at $4.50 according to AustralianGambling.

Sydney's shock-loss came at the hands of the Central Coast Mariners, who are another side who've surprised a few this season.

The Gosford-based club are at home again this week in the opening match of the round, against Adelaide United on Thursday night.

United hit the scoreboard first in their loss to the Jets last week, thanks to a goal from Nikola Mileusnic in the 24th minute, but two goals in three minutes from Ben Kantarovski and then Andrew Nabbout ensured the Jets left the city of churches will all three points.

The Reds are surprisingly a $2.50 favorite when they head to Gosford, with the Mariners just behind them at $2.60.

Melbourne City missed a golden opportunity to go to the top of the table on Sunday night, when the usually prolific Ross McCormack missed several chances against the Wanderers.

City's next assignment comes up on Friday night with an away match against Brisbane Roar. The Victorian club are $2.10 to win their fifth game from seven starts, while Brisbane are out at $3.

The Roar drew 1-1 with Melbourne Victory last week, who find themselves in the unfamiliar positon of second last on the ladder after failing to register a win in their opening six games.

It doesn't get any easier for last season's runners-up this weekend either, when they head west to take on Perth Glory.

The West Australians ($2.30) are slight favorites being at home, but will have to improve on last week's effort when they were crushed 5-2 by the Wellington Phoenix.

Despite that impressive showing, the "Nix" are at the large odds of $5 when they head to Sydney to take on Western Sydney Wanderers ($1.57) on Saturday.

Unlike many of the world's biggest football leagues, the A-League doesn't stop for the international break this weekend, with the competition's 10 clubs having to take the pitch without several of their stars.

The club who will be hurt most by this is Melbourne Victory, who'll be missing Australian midfielder James Troisi and New Zealand forward Kosta Barbarouses.

There is also a big question mark surrounding Mark Milligan, who didn't travel with the Socceroos squad for the World Cup qualification playoff first leg with Honduras as he was suspended for a second yellow card. However, he is unlikely to play much of a role in Victory's match with Brisbane Roar on Saturday night, as he'll be available for Wednesday's second leg.

Luckily for Melbourne, Brisbane have collected just two points from their opening five games and are at $4 AUD to pick up their first win of the campaign, according to AustralianGambling. Victory are at $1.83, with the draw at $3.60.

Brisbane drew with Central Coast Mariners last week, who host the ladder-leading Sydney FC in the first fixture of the round on Friday night.

The Sky Blues ($1.62) have a full squad to choose from and shouldn't have too many problems against the last-placed Mariners, who are at the biggest price of the round at $5.

Before last weekend, the team to beat was Melbourne City, but Sydney took care of them 1-0 thanks to a Luke Wilshire goal just before the hour mark.

Socceroos striker Tim Cahill went down with an ankle injury in that contest, which sent a scare through the Aussie camp, but he travelled with the national team, which is good news for Australia. But that means that City will be without him when they host Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday night.

City are a $2.10 favorite for the Sunday night clash with the Wanderers—who'll be without defender Josh Risdon, who's also in the Central American nation with the Roos—out at $3.30.

Adelaide United host Newcastle Jets on Saturday afternoon, and they're considered a slight favorite to get their second win of the season at $2.20. The Jets, who've started the season brightly with 11 points from a possible 15, are just behind them at $2.88.

Perth Glory striker Andy Keogh secured all three points against Adelaide last week, sealing the win with a header with 10 minutes to spare. His side are a $2.75 underdog to beat Wellington Phoenix ($2.30) on Sunday in the New Zealand capital.

There is no love lost when it comes to the fierce sporting rivalry that exists between the two largest municipalities in Australia. During Round 5, that rivalry will be alive and well in the A-League.

The gameweek's first Melbourne-Sydney encounter takes place in the Victorian capital on Friday, when Melbourne City host Sydney FC in a top-of-the-table blockbuster.

City have jumped out of the blocks this season, becoming the fourth side in the history of the league to win their first four games, and they'll be hoping history repeats, as the other three all won the championship.

If they are to lift the trophy on the first Sunday in May, they'll have to get past last year's champions, Sydney, who have won three of their opening four fixtures, including a comfortable 2-0 win over Perth Glory last time out.

The champions are a $2.10 AUD favorite to defeat City for the fourth time in a row, according to AustralianGambling, while the hosts are out at $3.30 to continue their perfect start to the season. The draw could be the best play given that City have conceded just one goal this campaign, and that's at $3.50.

The second Melbourne-Sydney clash comes up in the final fixture of the round, when Melbourne Victory host Western Sydney Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on Monday.

These two sides are not in the same form as their respective crosstown neighbours, with Victory in particular desperate for a win having collected just two points from their opening four games.

Despite being without star striker Besart Berisha, who was banned for two games after he pushed the fourth official in the club's draw with Adelaide United in Round 3, Melbourne are a $2.30 favorite to get their first win of the season.

The Wanderers, who named Spaniard Josep Gombau as their new coach on Wednesday, are at $2.75 to get their first win over Victory since December 2015.

Gombau takes over after the club drew 1-1 with Newcastle Jets in Round 4. Speaking of the Jets ($2), they are involved in the tightest betting match of the round when they host Wellington Phoenix ($2.40) on Saturday night.

That fixture is followed by Perth Glory ($2.10) vs. Adelaide United ($3.20). Brisbane Roar, despite being in last place, are a short-priced favorite ($1.83) to beat the Central Coast Mariners ($3.75) on Sunday.

Adelaide United qualified for their second FFA Cup final on Tuesday night when they defeated Western Sydney Wanderers. But there is no time to celebrate, with a home fixture against A-League pace-setters Melbourne City on Saturday night.

Adelaide are undefeated after three weeks of the season but did let a chance slip at home in their last league game, when Melbourne Victory winger Mitch Austin scored eight minutes from time on Friday night to secure a 2-2 draw.

Tuesday's win over the Wanderers, away from home, proves that this United squad can compete with the competition's best, and City are certainly in that category at the moment, having won all three of their games so far.

The match of the round at Coopers Stadium is expected to be a tight affair, as the hosts are set at $2.40 AUD to get the three points, according to AustralianGambling, with Melbourne just behind them at $2.63.

A tight contest is also predicted on Sunday in the all New South Wales clash between Newcastle Jets ($2.50) and the Wanderers ($2.70).

After winning the wooden spoon last season, the Jets have been one of the surprise packages of the opening three weeks, collecting seven points from a possible nine—including a brilliant 2-1 away win in Brisbane last Sunday.

Western Sydney caretaker coach Hayden Foxe has made an impressive start to his coaching career after he was handed the reins just days before the season began—Tony Popovic left the club to coach Karabukspor in Turkey's Super Lig. Former Socceroo Foxe has guided the club to a win and two draws.

The Wanderers took a point from last week's derby against Sydney FC, who are the shortest-priced favorite of the round when they host Perth Glory ($6) in the opening match of the round on Friday night.

The Sky Blues are $1.45 to bounce straight back into the winner's circle after they dropped their first points of the season in what was an entertaining Sydney derby.

Perth picked up their first win of the season last week when Adam Taggart scored the winner at home against the Central Coast Mariners just five minutes before the final whistle.

Wellington Phoenix are $2.25 favorites when they host Brisbane Roar ($2.80) on Saturday, while the Melbourne Victory ($2), who find themselves in the unfamiliar position of seventh on the ladder, aim to get their first win of the season when they travel to Gosford to take on the Mariners ($3.30) in the final match of the round.

All eyes are on Sydney in Week 3 for the marquee fixture of the A-League season: the Sydney derby.

With both Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers sitting inside the top four, those inside the Allianz Arena on Saturday are sure to be treated to a brilliant display.

The sky-blue half of Sydney has owned this fixture recently, losing just one of the past 10 crosstown clashes. And considering the champions have opened this season with two wins from two, it's no surprise to see them go in as favourites.

So $1.85 AUD is the quote they have been given to win their third game from as many outings, according to AustralianGambling, while the Wanderers, who are coming off a 2-2 draw with the Central Coast Mariners, are out at $3.80.

The Mariners face one of the longest trips in the league this gameweek, as they head west to take on Perth Glory on Sunday.

Perth are coming off a 2-2 draw of their own, against the Newcastle Jets. Glory snatched a point late in the game when former Jets striker Adam Taggart came back to haunt his old side with a 92-minute header.

The hosts are $1.67 to get their first win of the season, while the Mariners are the second-biggest underdog of the round at $4.20.

The biggest underdog of the round are the Wellington Phoenix ($5.50), who head to the Victorian capital to take on Melbourne City on Saturday afternoon. City have started the season in scintillating form, winning both of their games, including a 2-1 win in the derby against Melbourne Victory last time out.

One of the main reasons for City's fast-start has been their ability to quickly turn defense into attack. This has been illustrated best by Bruce Kamau, who scored the winner in the derby.

Victory are aiming to get their first points of the season in Week 3 when they head to the City of Churches to take on Adelaide United.

Despite claiming four points from a possible six, the Reds are only marginal favourites, at $2.45, while Melbourne are behind them at $2.55.

Another tight game is expected in Brisbane on Sunday, when the Brisbane Roar ($2.25) host the vastly improved Newcastle Jets ($2.80), who find themselves in third place.

The Roar, who lost at the semi-final stage last season, find themselves dead last, with a minus-three goal difference.

Melbourne Victory opened the A-League season with a loss to their bitter rivals Sydney FC last Saturday night, and Kevin Muscat's men find themselves on centre stage again this week when they take on another one of their fiercest foes, Melbourne City, in the season's first Victorian derby.

The Victory boss made headlines himself last week, when he snubbed his Sydney counterpart Graham Arnold, who was looking for a post-game handshake.

This Saturday night's fixture is the pick of the round, with last season's runners-up looking to avoid starting the season with two straight losses. It won't be easy, though, given that the Citizens opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar.

The Big V are slight favorites at $2.25 AUD to beat their neighbors, who are $2.75 to win their fifth derby from 12 starts, and the draw is set at $3.70, according to AustralianGambling.

Tim Cahill, who is fresh off scoring a double in Australia's 2-1 World Cup Qualifying win over Syria on Tuesday, is expected to play, and he will be looking to emulate his feats of last season, when he scored the goal of the season with a half-volley from 40 metres out.

City's first-up opponent Brisbane open the round with a home game against Adelaide United on Friday night.

The Roar are $2.15 favorites to bounce back into the winner's circle, while United are out at $2.90 to get their first win after they drew with Wellington Phoenix on the opening Sunday of the season.

The Reds left points behind in the New Zealand capital after they dominated the game. This fixture has been a goal fest of late, with seven of the last eight games featuring more than two goals.

Despite losing their coach just days before the season kicked off, the Western Sydney Wanderers made a winning start to the season, when they scored a 2-1 win over Perth Glory.

They're at home again on Saturday, this time welcoming the Central Coast Mariners, who were belted 5-1 in the F3 derby against the Newcastle Jets.

Wanderers are assessed as a $1.33 shot to make it two from two, while the Mariners, who could be in for a long season, are out at $6.

Speaking of the Jets, they have been the talk of the town this week, with Ernie Merrick's men favored to add another win to their brilliant first-up showing. Last season's wooden spooners are $2.10 to beat the Glory ($3.20).

The final match of the round is also in New South Wales, when the champions Sydney host Wellington Phoenix. The Sky Blues aren't expected to have too many problems against the Kiwi side and have been installed as the shortest priced favorites of the weekend, at $1.38, with the Nix out at $8.  

The 2017/18 A-League season begins on October 6, and while there are many clubs who are considered to have a chance of taking the title, there is one club who has been significantly disadvantaged before its campaign even begins.

Tony Popovic is the only coach that the Western Sydney Wanderers have ever known, with the former centre-back taking over the reins at the club when they first joined the league in 2012, but just days before the new season was due to begin, he announced he was heading to Europe to coach Karabukspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Despite the setback, the Wanderers are assessed as a $2 AUD favorite to beat Perth Glory at home on Sunday night, according to AustralianGambling, with the 2014 Asian Champions League winners adding several key players to their squad, including Chris Herd, Mark Bridge, Roly Bonevacia and Michael Thwaite.

After losing at the semi-final stage last season, Perth will be keen to go a couple of steps further in this campaign, but their defense looks shaky, having lost both Rhys Williams and Josh Risdon during the offseason. They're at $3.60 to get their season off to a winning start.

The 13th edition of the A-League begins in Melbourne on Friday, when last season's FFA Cup winners Melbourne City ($2) host the Brisbane Roar ($3.20), who were bundled out of last season's finals by Melbourne Victory at the semi-final stage.

The game that everyone is waiting to see comes up on Saturday night in the same city, when Melbourne Victory host Sydney FC in the Grand Final rematch at Etihad Stadium.

Just as it was in May's Grand Final, bookmakers are expecting a tight affair, with the hosts at $2.63 to get some revenge for the decider, while the Sky Blues are in at $2.40 to win their fifth game in a row against one of their fiercest rivals.

After the Premiers lost both Rhyan Grant and Danny Vukovic, many thought that the Sydneysiders may have been vulnerable, but they have been replaced by former Socceroos Luke Wilkshire and Alex Cisak, which will ensure they are the team to beat again this campaign.

There's also an F3 derby to look forward to on Saturday, when the Newcastle Jets head up the road to take on the Central Coast Mariners. Despite both clubs coming off disappointing seasons, this clash promises to be as fierce as ever.

The Jets haven't troubled the scorers in their last five away games, which sees them go in as underdogs at $2.70, but the Mariners aren't too much shorter at $2.50.

The final match of the round then comes up on Sunday when Adelaide United ($2.75) head across the ditch to New Zealand to take on the Wellington Phoenix ($2.37).

In Australia's premier soccer competition, you cannot be considered the national A-League champion unless you win the Grand Final, the tournament's showpiece event.

Due to the superiority of Sydney FC's season, in which they broke several records—including a record points tally and biggest margin from first to second (17 points)—it has brought into focus just how unfair it will be if they lost Sunday's Grand Final against Melbourne Victory.

The Premiers' amazing season, which included only a single loss, came in no small part due to the brilliance of Milos Ninkovic, who was the clear winner of the league's highest individual honour, the Johnny Warren Medal.

Having put together the most dominant season in the history of the league, the Sky Blues will go in as solid favourites at $1.80 AUD to win inside the 90 minutes, with Victory at $4.33 and a draw at $3.75, according to AustralianGambling.com.au.

Only three of the 11 A-League grand finals have ended all square after the 90 minutes.

Ever since the two biggest clubs in the land met in the first round of the league, back in August 2005, the "Big Blue" has been a must-see fixture for the A-League. They have met twice previously in Grand Final matchups, with Sydney claiming the trophy in 2010 and Melbourne winning in 2015.

The same two coaches as 2015 face off here, in Kevin Muscat and Graham Arnold. Muscat was also a key figure in the 2010 Grand Final, missing a spot-kick in the penalty shootout that decided the game. Remarkably, it was the only penalty he missed in his decorated A-League playing career.

Being a Grand Final, there is also a chance we could go to extra time, and penalties, if the teams cannot be separated during regular time once more. The "to lift the cup" market has Sydney even shorter, at $1.32, with Melbourne at $3.30. Only two Grand Final matchups have been decided on penalties.

In their three matches this year, Sydney prevailed all three times but did come from behind in the first two matches.

Common sense says that Sydney wins this decider. Victory have lost their last four away finals and have scored just one goal in those knockout games, but they certainly have the attacking threats to cause a surprise.

Those threats come with the likes of Marco Rojas, James Troisi, and Besart Berisha, who are all capable of scoring when their club needs it. Let's not forget, though, that their opponents have kept 17 clean sheets this season, eight more than any other team.

The Sky Blues are odds-on to be the fourth consecutive Premier to be crowned champions. Should they slip up, it would be the biggest surprise in the 12-year history of the league. Away teams have won just three of the 11 A-League Grand Final matchups, the most recent being in 2013.

Arnold will see this as an opportunity the Sky Blues can't afford to miss. Winning the Grand Final is a perfect way to end what has been a close-to-perfect season.

The A-League season reaches its penultimate stage this weekend with the two grand finalists to be determined by the winner of the semifinals to be played in Sydney on Saturday and in Melbourne on Sunday.

The two hosts of these matches, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, are both short-priced favourites to progress, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, having dominated for much of the season.

Sydney FC have lost just one game in the league this season, against Western Sydney Wanderers in February, and are $1.17 AUD betting favourites to progress through to the Grand Final by overcoming Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Glory got through to this stage with a shock win over Melbourne City, who they beat 2-0. That was just their third away win of the season, and the chances of them going back-to-back on the road are considered slight. They are $4.60 to get past Sydney and into the decider.

The Perth side have been poor against Sydney in their three encounters this year, losing by a three-goal margin each time. That's why the Sky Blues are $1.45 to put this away in regulation, with a Glory win inside 90 minutes rated a $6.50 chance.

Glory just don't match up well on Sydney, who boast a formidable defence that tends to strangle space, something that Perth's talisman Diego Castro needs to find a way through.

At AAMI Park on Sunday night, Melbourne Victory are looking to turn a promising season into a Grand Final appearance.

Victory's final month of the season was less than impressive, but they already had second spot sewn up and had the weekend off last week to prepare for this match.

When you consider that since Victory last took to the field, opponents Brisbane Roar have endured 120 minutes plus penalties in an elimination final win over the Wanderers before a trip to Thailand as part of their Asian Champions League campaign, you can see why the home side are overwhelming favourites.

In terms of progressing through to the final, Victory are $1.35 to book their spot, with the Roar $3.01 outsiders.

The 90-minute market sees Victory at $1.80 to wrap it up in regulation time, with Roar at $4.33. Extra time is priced as a $3.50 chance.

The team's three matches this season resulted in a win each, plus a draw, with their most recent meeting a 1-0 home win to Brisbane in late March.

What is worth noting is that Brisbane haven't beaten Victory in Melbourne since January 2014, a spell of four matches.