A League Australian Football

The third Melbourne derby at Etihad Stadium comes at a crucial time for both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, as both teams bid to rediscover their best form with the playoffs now just two months away.

Victory's remote hopes of catching runaway leaders Sydney FC in the chase for the Premier's Plate have all but disappeared thanks to a 2-1 loss to the Sky Blues last week, and their attention must turn to readying themselves for a strong finals campaign.

Having lost three matches in succession, they are now 11 points adrift of Sydney and need to concern themselves with the two teams coming up behind them—Brisbane, who are four points behind on 27 points, and City, a point further back.

City, who have not put together consecutive league wins since Round 2 and are coming off a shock loss to Newcastle, can close within two of their crosstown rivals on Saturday with a win, something they have done in two of the past three derbies.

Victory are $2.30 favorites to win this match, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, despite losing 4-1 at this venue earlier in the year, while City are $2.80 and the draw, which has only occurred once in the past 12 derbies, is at $3.50.

The other top-four battle sees Sydney, who are now $2.50 for the championship, travel to Brisbane to take on the Roar on Friday night.

It's a huge game for Brisbane, who could find themselves challenging for second place with a win, or they could be cast adrift in fourth with a loss.

The Roar have only lost once at home this season, but they are $3 outsiders in this match with the Sky Blues boasting a brilliant away record of eight wins and a draw from nine games. Sydney are $2.25 favorites. A draw, which was the result when these two met in Brisbane in November, is $3.40.

At the other end of the table, Wellington and Western Sydney both desperately need wins to get back in the fight for the top six, having slipped behind Newcastle and Perth in recent weeks.

The Phoenix are $2.15 favorites as the home side in the first A-League match to be played in New Plymouth, New Zealand, with the Wanderers at $3.10 and the draw at $3.50.

Another match which will also shape the bottom end of the six sees Perth Glory host Newcastle Jets late Saturday. The Glory are $1.95 favorites for that with the Jets and the draw both priced at $3.60.

The final match of the round pits the bottom two teams in the table, Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners, on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds may be rock bottom with just two wins for the season, but they start the shortest-priced favorites of the round at $1.90, with the draw at $3.70 and the Mariners at $3.75.

The match the A-League has been waiting for will be staged on Australia Day in Melbourne, when unbeaten Sydney FC take their quest for invincibility on the road to Etihad Stadium, where they face second-place Melbourne Victory.

Victory looked the team more likely to win when the pair last met at the start of November, but Sydney escaped with all three points thanks to two second-half goals from David Carney.

After that match, Victory went on a nine-match unbeaten streak to close within five points of Sydney with a match in hand, but two upset losses in the space of five days threaten to derail their charge.

It means a win here for Sydney could put them 11 points clear with 10 matches remaining and in an almighty position when it comes to claiming the Premiers Plate.

The pressure is firmly back on Victory to get things back on track, and they go into this match as $2.40 (AUD) favourites, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, to inflict Sydney's first loss of the season.

The Sky Blues are $2.75 to grab their first win away to Victory since they won this fixture 5-0 three years ago, while the draw is at $3.50.

That is the marquee fixture of an interesting A-League round, with the market undecided on four of the five matches.

The only odds-on favourites for the round are Melbourne City, who travel to Coffs Harbour to play the Newcastle Jets.

Coffs Harbour is the site of football's greatest-ever thrashing, Australia's 31-0 win over American Samoa in 2001, the famous match in which Archie Thompson scored a world-record 13 goals.

There is no expectation of a similar scoreline again, but City, who got back onto the winner's list with a 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners on January 19, are $1.83 to collect back-to-back successes for the first time since the first two matches of the season.

The Jets were ordinary last week against the Western Sydney Wanderers and go into this as $4 outsiders despite having lost just two of eight home games this season, while the draw is $3.75.

Perth Glory have suddenly found form and are unbeaten in their past five. They travel to Gosford to take on the Mariners on Saturday afternoon as $2.10 favourites, with the bottom-placed Mariners at $3.25 and the draw at $3.65.

A Perth win could get them on the cusp of the top four, with the Brisbane Roar needing to beat the Wanderers on Saturday night to keep them at bay.

The Roar, who snapped a three-match losing streak with a win over Wellington Phoenix last week, are $2.25 favourites to win that match. The Wanderers collected win number three for the season against Newcastle last week and are $3 to win again, while the draw, the result the first two times these teams met this season, is a $3.50 chance.

The round finishes off Sunday in Adelaide with the Reds looking to get clear of the bottom of the table when they host the Phoenix.

A quirk in the fixture list means this is the third time these two have played in the space of seven weeks, with Adelaide winning their match 2-0 in December and their New Year's Day clash in Wellington ending in a 0-0 draw.

The oddsmakers have the Reds as $2.10 favourite, with the Phoenix at $3.25 and the draw at $3.50.

The battle between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory for A-League supremacy took plenty of twists and turns over the past week, and with their crucial Australia Day clash just a week away, both will be desperate to win their Round 16 matches.

As it stands, Sydney hold a five-point lead over Victory at the top of the table, but that could have been as little as two after the Sky Blues only managed a 0-0 draw against the Western Sydney Wanderers last week.

Victory, who had beaten Brisbane Roar 3-2 in an extraordinary match on Friday, travelled to Wellington on Tuesday and got a massive shock, as they were beaten 3-0 by the Phoenix and squandered their chance to close the gap.

The market now has Sydney FC at $3.10 AUD to win the championship, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, while they are $1.40 to win the Premiers Plate. The Victory are $3.30 and $3.20, respectively, in those markets after the events of the past five days.

Victory now must make the arduous trip to Perth on Saturday night to play the Glory. The Melbourne side go in as $2.10 favourites, despite having not beaten the Glory in the league since March 2014. The Glory, who have just one win in their past eight matches, are $3 with the draw at $3.60.

Sydney FC, coming off a slightly disappointing Sydney Derby, take on an Adelaide United side who are finally off the bottom of the ladder having beaten Melbourne City last week.

The Sky Blues are $1.50 favourites in that match, and it's little wonder when you consider they played Adelaide four weeks ago at Coopers Stadium and thrashed them 4-0. The Reds did manage a draw in Sydney in November, and that is quoted at $4, while an unlikely Adelaide win would net you odds of $6.50.

Melbourne City's inconsistent recent form has dented their title charge, but they can get things back on track when they host bottom-of-the-table Central Coast Mariners on Thursday night.

These two teams met just 19 days ago on New Year's Eve, and that resulted in a 2-2 draw. The oddsmakers think a repeat of that is unlikely, with City the shortest-price favourite of the weekend at $1.30. The Mariners are $8.50, with a draw priced at $5.50.

Wellington are arguably the form team of the competition after back-to-back home wins in the space of three days. They host the team with the least impressive recent form in Brisbane, who are on a three-match losing streak.

The Roar sit three points ahead of the Phoenix in the table, and the oddsmakers have them as $2.30 favourites, with the Phoenix at $2.80 and the draw at $3.40.

The final match of the round pitches the Western Sydney Wanderers, who have nine draws from 15 games this campaign, against the Newcastle Jets on Sunday. The Wanderers are $1.85 for that one, with the Jets at $3.60. The draw looks particularly appealing at $4 given the Wanderers are winless in their past six matches and love a stalemate.

The A-League's traditional power clubs, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, have firmly asserted themselves on the competition this season. And while there are still 13 rounds to go, the battle for the Premiers' Plate appears to be down to those two teams.

Sydney are on a mission to be the A-League's first-ever unbeaten side, and having secured a slightly fortuitous three points in their match against the Central Coast Mariners last week, they sit seven points clear of Melbourne Victory.

But Victory are now close to equal favorites with Sydney for the championship, having notched five wins in succession with success against Adelaide United this week. They are $3.60 to lift the trophy at season's end, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with Sydney at $3.50.

This round of matches could prove crucial for both sides, with Sydney facing a derby against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, while Melbourne host fourth-placed Brisbane Roar on Friday before traveling to face Wellington Phoenix for a rescheduled match on Tuesday.

A loss from Sydney and two wins from Victory in those fixtures would see the Sky Blues' lead at the top of the table cut to just one point.

However, the bookmakers don't think that will happen, with Sydney at $1.67 to beat the Wanderers, who are $5. The draw is priced at $3.75.

The logic behind the market is simple. Sydney smashed the Wanderers 4-0 in the opening game of the season, and while the Sky Blues have continued to improve since then, it's arguable whether the Wanderers have made any progress. They have won just one of their past 12 games and are coming off a loss to Melbourne City.

To make things worse for the Wanderers, Sydney get back suspended striker Alex Brosque, who is their leading scorer this season with eight goals.

Twenty-four hours before that, Brisbane face a crucial test, having lost two matches in succession. While the loss to Sydney FC two weeks ago was excusable, the 3-2 home defeat to the Newcastle Jets wasn't, and John Aloisi's team look anything but the resilient Roar of earlier in the season.

They confront a white-hot Victory side, with Besart Berisha and Marco Rojas seemingly scoring goals for fun at the moment. Victory are $1.67, and look value at that, with the Roar at $5 in a market that mirrors the Sydney derby.

The round kicks off in Adelaide on Thursday night, when the Reds host Melbourne City, who broke their winless run with a 1-0 win last week.

Under caretaker coach Michael Valkanis, City weren't exactly convincing, but they did enough and may finally be getting things back on track. They are $2.10 to make it back-to-back successes, while Adelaide are $3.30 to secure just their second win of the campaign.

The Phoenix lost to Perth Glory last week, but they look a better team since they had a change of coach. They are $1.57 to get the points against the Central Coast Mariners ($5), who are now winless in six, five of which have been losses.

Things are much brighter up the F3, where the Jets secured yet another massive upset against Brisbane last week. They are $2.40 to defeat Perth when the teams meet in Newcastle on Sunday afternoon in a battle of the A-League's two least predictable teams.

Ballboys don't come much pluckier than this.

Central Coast Mariners were hosting Melbourne City in the A-League on Saturday, when Tim Cahill put the visiting side ahead with a trademark header after 40 minutes.

The Australian legend promptly headed for the corner to perform his familiar flag-boxing celebration only for a home ballboy to step forward and remove the flag from its slot as Cahill approached.

After a brief pause in which the former Everton man appeared unsure how to respond, he made do by carrying out the signature move on thin air.

The Mariners scored twice in the second half before City hit a last minute-equaliser, but it's the plucky ballboy who will be the talk of the internet for his cheeky manoeuvre.

[YouTube]

Having secured the record for the most games unbeaten to start an A-League season, Sydney FC can become the first team ever to enter the new year without a loss should they continue their remarkable run against the Brisbane Roar on Friday night at Allianz Stadium.

Sydney surpassed the Adelaide United side of the 2010-11 campaign in moving to 12 games without a loss with a 4-0 rout of the Reds on Boxing Day. Next up looms the Roar, the team that boasts the second-longest current unbeaten streak in the league.

The third-placed Brisbane side have jumped ahead of Melbourne City in the table with two wins and a draw in their past three games—their most recent result was a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers on December 23.

Despite having not lost in 10 matches, the Roar go into this game as $4.40 outsiders (bet $1 to win $3.40) according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with Sydney well supported into $1.75. The draw is at $3.80, which appears good value when you consider how resilient Brisbane have been this campaign and that Sydney haven't beaten Brisbane in their past four clashes.

Saturday sees the hosting of Central Coast's traditional New Year's Eve match at Gosford. The Mariners have made this match a regular fixture, and this year they welcome a Melbourne City side who seem to have lost their way since their FFA Cup final win in late November.

City looked like the team that could seriously challenge Sydney for the title but have gone through December with just three points from four matches to date. Their 3-3 draw with Perth Glory proved to be 90 minutes of frustration as they took the lead on three occasions, only to be pegged back by the determined visitors. What's worse, Sydney had two penalties saved.

They have completely dominated the Central Coast Mariners in recent contests, including a 5-1 win at Gosford last season, and as a result are $1.50 to win this match.

The Mariners have shipped 14 goals in four matches, including four in Wednesday's away defeat to Melbourne Victory. Injuries have exposed their lack of depth, and they are $6 to win this with the draw at $4.35.

Wellington Phoenix can compound Adelaide's recent misery when they host the Reds at Westpac Stadium on New Year's Day. The Phoenix are unbeaten in three matches since Ernie Merrick's shock resignation and are $2.30 favourites to win here, with the draw at $3.60.

Adelaide's sole win this season came against the Phoenix four weeks ago, but they are rightfully $2.88 for this match given they have lost three matches in a row, including two 4-0 losses.

Perth take their Jekyll and Hyde show to Western Sydney to take on the Wanderers at ANZ Stadium late on New Year's Day.

What do we make of the Glory? They were insipid in back-to-back home losses against Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC before showing tremendous spirit in the 3-3 draw away to Melbourne City.

They are $3.70 outsiders in this match, with the draw at $3.80 and the Wanderers, who need the three points to get back in the top six, at $1.87.

Melbourne Victory, who look the main challengers to the Sky Blues' run to the championship, again round off the round when they host the Newcastle Jets in Geelong on Monday night.

Victory are the shortest-price favourite of the round at $1.36, while the draw is $4.50 and the Jets are $7.50.

After a run of blockbuster matches the extended Christmas weekend of A-League coughs up some prospective lopsided affairs, with four of the five games featuring odds-on favorites according to website AustralianGambling.com.au.

The matches will be held Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with Brisbane Roar kicking things off Friday night at Suncorp Stadium against the Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Roar are now in third place, and while they are still seven points off top-placed Sydney they look like good value for the championship at $8 given the resilience they have shown this season.

The Roar are unbeaten in nine matches while the Wanderers have won just one of their past nine and gave up a two-goal lead against Wellington last week.

Accordingly, the oddsmakers have set up a lopsided market which has the Roar at $1.95, the draw at $3.50 and a Wanderers win at $3.70.

The Wanderers' overall record at Suncorp is pretty strong with three wins from seven matches, but one of their four losses was their heartbreaking defeat in the 2014 Grand Final.

The next match chronologically is the most even on paper with the suddenly in-form Newcastle Jets hosting Wellington Phoenix on Boxing Day.

The Jets stunned Perth a fortnight ago and then backed that up with a last-minute victory over Adelaide. Those results have catapulted them from near bottom of the table to fifth.

They go into this match as $2.30 favorites, the first time in a long time they have carried that tag, with the Phoenix, coming off that stirring 2-2 draw with the Wanderers, at $2.90 and the draw at $3.40.

Later that night bottom-placed Adelaide, who are seemingly out of ideas on how to resurrect their disastrous title defense, host high-flying Sydney FC at Coopers Stadium.

Given the Sky Blues are unbeaten and seven points clear on top of the table and the Reds have six points from 11 games, the $1.95 on offer about the visitors seems generous. The draw is at $3.50 and the Reds are also $3.50 to make it back-to-back home wins.

The round concludes with two matches in Melbourne on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Melbourne City hosts Perth, the competition's great enigma, on Tuesday, with the home side coming off a shock loss in the Melbourne Derby last time out. It's worth noting that Glory beat City at this venue early this year, while they held Victory to a draw a few weeks ago.

If they bring that intensity then there may be hope of prevailing at the juicy odds of $5.50, but City, who are $1.55, will be desperate to get back on the winners' list.

Victory, on a five-match unbeaten streak which included four wins, are the shortest-priced favorite for the round when they host Central Coast Mariners at $1.25. The draw is $5.50 while a Mariners win is long odds at $11.

Sydney FC have a great chance to put some distance between themselves and their nearest rivals should they beat Perth Glory in Saturday's match in the western Australian capital.

With their two nearest rivals, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory, engaged in a derby on the same night, the opportunity is there for the Sky Blues, who are $4 championship favorites, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, and six points clear, to get themselves into an even more dominant position.

Sydney are $2 favorites to defeat the inconsistent Glory, who turned in a terribly disappointing performance at home last week when the lowly Newcastle Jets beat them.

The Glory have prided themselves on their strong home record, but coach Kenny Lowe has his problems getting the best out of his talented side, who are $3.50 outsiders in this match. The draw is also priced at $3.50.

The main event of the week is the Melbourne derby, in which City will be looking to continue their recent domination of their cross-city rivals. City thrashed Victory 4-1 in their first league encounter this season and also knocked them out of the FFA Cup at the semi-final stage.

Understandably, they go in as $2.30 favorites, having also claimed a point away to Sydney last week.

A win from Victory, priced at $2.87, would put them above City on the table for the first time since Round 17 last year and mark them as the main challengers to Sydney in the chase for the title. A draw wouldn't be surprising and is at $3.50.

The Brisbane Roar could also benefit from a draw in that derby. They sit level with Victory on 17 points, one point adrift of second-placed City. 

The Roar travel to play the struggling Central Coast Mariners on Sunday and go into the match as $1.67 favorites. John Aloisi's side have been the masters of resilience, dropping just one game on the season so far, and that was eight weeks ago. The right result for them could see them into second spot.

The Mariners, currently second from the bottom and with the worst goal difference in the league, are $4.50 to win this one. The draw is at $4.

Friday night's match sees the Jets, whose two wins this season have come at monstrous odds, host Adelaide United. The home side, coming off that upset win in Perth, are $3 to win this, with the Reds, who are bottom of the table, at $2.25 and the draw at $3.40.

The other match pits Wellington Phoenix against Western Sydney in Auckland, with the Wanderers at $2.30, the Phoenix at $2.87 and the draw at $3.50.

The success of the A-League has largely been built on the battles between Australia's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and in Week 10 of the 2016-17 season, we get a double dose of this rivalry.

The top-two sides, Sydney FC and Melbourne City, will square off at ANZ Stadium on December 9, while the Western Sydney Wanderers host Melbourne Victory at the same venue the day after.

The two foundation teams, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, may have played each other in two grand finals, but as it stands, the rivalry between Melbourne City and the Sky Blues is tangibly stronger following the recent FFA Cup Final between the two.

Sydney and Melbourne City are in the top-two spots on the table, with six points separating them. Should City cause an upset—rated a $3 chance according to website AustralianGambling.com.au—it will be Sydney's first loss of their campaign and would cut their lead at the top in half.

Sydney are $2.20 favourites to win this one despite having not won against City in Sydney in almost three years. A draw, which was the result between these two teams twice last season, is rated a $3.50 chance.

Three points behind City are Melbourne Victory, but they have a game in hand and could close the gap when they play the Wanderers 24 hours later.

Victory have already beaten the Wanderers once this year, 3-0 at Etihad Stadium, but go in as $2.75 outsiders because of the Wanderers' "home" advantage—the Wanderers' former home, the Parramatta Stadium, is set for demolition, so they have used the both the ANZ Stadium and the Spotless Stadium as a home venue this year, and they are slated to use the Campbelltown Stadium later in the season.

The precise value of that home advantage is debatable, considering the Wanderers' only other game at the ANZ Stadium was a 4-0 drubbing by Sydney FC in the opening round.

The positive for the Wanderers is that they broke a long winless streak with a 4-1 victory away to the Central Coast Mariners last week, which may provide the spark their season has been desperately lacking.

The Wanderers are $2.40 to beat the Victory for just the second time in 10 games between the pair, while a draw—a result that has happened just twice in 13 meetings between these teams—is $3.40.

Fourth-placed Brisbane Roar will be hoping that all this rivalry might play into their hands, given they are level on points with Victory and face a winnable home match against Adelaide United on Sunday. The Roar, on a run of four draws, are $2 to beat the Reds, with both the draw and an Adelaide win priced at $3.50.

Adelaide got their first win of the season last week against Wellington Phoenix, ending the tenure of Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick. Remarkably, the Phoenix go into Saturday's home match against the Central Coast Mariners as $1.67 favorites.

A Phoenix win could see the home side go as high as seventh, while the Mariners, who are $4.50, can't seem to put consistent performances together. The draw is at $4.

The other match pits the Perth Glory, who are $1.61, against the Newcastle Jets, who are $5 to beat the Glory for the first time in five years.

The Glory haven't lost at home in 11 games and look the greatest certainty of the weekend given their dominance over the Jets, who have lost their last eight games in the A-League between the two.

After such a dominant start to the season, December could see Sydney FC's commanding lead on top of the A-League undermined as they face a series of tricky matches, including this Sunday's away trip to Newcastle.

The Sky Blues may still be unbeaten, but they have looked vulnerable in the past fortnight with draws against Brisbane and Adelaide. They travel three times in December, including back-to-back trips to Perth and Adelaide, while their two home matches are against second-place Melbourne City and fourth-place Brisbane Roar.

Given they are still four points clear on top of the table, it is little surprise the Sky Blues are still favorites to win the championship according to website AustralianGambling.com.au, but the fact they are still backable at $4 shows that doubts remain over their ability to maintain their strong start to the season.

That is enhanced by a kind December draw to both Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. City play three games at home with away trips to the Sky Blues and the Mariners, while the Victory, who are seven points behind Sydney but have a game in hand, play three of four games in Melbourne.

Five weeks ago, Sydney easily beat Newcastle 2-0 in Newcastle, and the Jets haven't won since. They return to the Hunter on Sunday afternoon as $1.65 favorites having won their past six against the Jets and having not conceded a goal against them in 371 minutes. The Jets are $4.65 and the draw is at $3.70.

City can put some pressure on the Sky Blues with a win against the Roar on Saturday night. These two met in Brisbane four weeks ago with the Roar grinding out a 1-0 win, but AAMI Park is likely to be a different matter.

The oddsmakers have City as $1.95 favorites and little wonder when you consider the Roar haven't won against them at this venue since the then-Melbourne Heart were in their infancy at the start of the 2010-11 campaign. A draw is rated a $3.50 chance, marginally longer than a Roar win, which is at $3.45.

Twenty-four hours earlier at the same venue, Melbourne Victory host a Perth Glory team on a horrid away run. Glory have lost three away games on the bounce, while they have conceded 10 goals in four away games this season.

Given it's a clash of the A-League second best attack and its worst defense, it is not surprising Victory are $1.60 favorites, with the Glory at $4.65 and the draw at $4.

But a couple of key things are worth considering. Glory did win at AAMI Park (against City) earlier this season and haven't lost to Victory at this venue in the A-League since December 2013.

Central Coast will be looking to build on the momentum of their 2-0 win over Perth Glory last week when they host Western Sydney.

The Wanderers secured their fifth draw in eight games against the Roar last week and go into this match as $2 favorites despite trailing the Mariners on the table. Another Mariners home win is priced at $3.30 while the draw, which seems good value given WSW's efforts this season, is at $3.50.

And Adelaide are $1.82 to break through for their first win of the season when they host second-from-the-bottom Wellington on Sunday. The Phoenix are $3.80 with the draw at $3.60.