Aust. A-League
2013-01-26 - Western Sydney Wanderers vs Melbourne Heart
A Sports Betting Pick by DownUnder
Football : Australia : A-League
Venue: Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, January 26, 2013 – Kickoff 5:45 pm(local) 08:45 GMT
Recent Form:
Western Sydney : (last five games) DWLWW
Home record - 9 Matches 4-1-4 (12:10)
Melbourne Heart : (last five games) LWWLW
Away record - 8 Matches 1-1-6 (6:13)
Western Sydney Wanderers(4th)
The Wanderers home crowds are tracking at around 14,000 per game, yet the noise they are making you could be mistaken for thinking its double that number.
Whilst Sydney’s home record is average, it is certainly on the up of late. They have won at 3 of their last 4 games at home, the exception being a 0-2 loss to the table topping Mariners.
Youssouf Hersi, the Ethiopian-born (but raised in Holland) is becoming a real threat on the wing, and the striking powers of Shinji Ono and Mark Bridge are going to cause the Heart a lot of headaches.
Tony Popovic's Wanderers are in fourth spot but three points from this match could get them as high as 2nd place if other results go their way this round.
Melbourne Heart(5th)
With the fanatical home support Western Sydney get, along with the Heart having the worst away form of any team in the league, Coach John Aloisi is really up against it in this 4th verses 5th matchup.
Influential Brazilian Fred is sidelined for a month due to injury and will be missed in this fixture. This may force Aloisi to rush the return of midfielder Vince Grella. He has trained this week after being out for over 3 months, and if he is match fit, his presence could shift the game in the Heart’s favour.
Another big question mark is the return of striker 20-year-old Eli Babalj following a stime with Red Star Belgrade, his inclusion in the starting line up is conditional on getting international clearance.
Head to Head
The only previous encounter between these two teams was on November 2nd, 2012 with the Wanderers beating the Heart 2-1, at Parramatta Stadium.
The Betting Verdict
I’m picking a home win, and I see the bookies are shortening the odds on that as we speak.
Its hard to get past that ferocious home support West Sydney have, and I think this is going to be a case of deja vu, i.e. a repeat of the score line when these two teams met at the same venue (the only difference will be the tie will not be decided by an own goal!)
The Pick :
Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 Melbourne Heart
BEST BETTING TIP :
Shrimp on the Barbie (main bet)Take Western Sydney Wanderers to win @ 1.73 at Paddy Power
and if you want a small side salad (second bet) ....
Go for West Sydney to win 2-1 at 8.50 at Bet365 or BetVictor
