A-League Grand Final Preview & Bets
We’re finally here, the week leading up to the biggest soccer match in Australia for the year. We had a couple of great Semi Finals, with undoubtedly the two best teams from the season flexing their muscles and showing why they will be the ones playing for silverware on Sunday afternoon.
The weekend kicked off on Friday evening with one of the biggest A-League matches in recent memory. Not only was it a Semi Final, but it was also a Melbourne Derby and it lived up to the hype. On paper Melbourne Victory were clearly the better team and they didn’t disappoint their followers. In front of thee 50,000 plus people jammed into Etihad Stadium, the Premiers put on a show. Berisha opened the scoring early in the game courtesy of a peach of a cross from Barbarouses, the Albanian was delivered the football on a silver plate, barely inches away from the goal and he had to just tap it in with a header. Not long after it was Barbarouses’ turn to hit the highlight reel after he hit one of the cleanest volleys you’ll see from the top of the box, it was one of the goals of the season. Nearly an hour went by before fan favourite Thompson slotted an easy goal in the final few minutes to seal it for the boys in blue. Melbourne Victory couldn’t of been much more impressive with their 3-0 win and will head into the Grand Final full of confidence.
Saturday night rolled around and we were treated to Sydney hosting Adelaide. Even though these are two of the very best teams to come out of the season, Sydney went into the match as a short priced favourite. It didn’t take long for the scoring to kick off with Ibini scoring for Sydney in under 20 minutes. The game was tight for the remainder of the half until the last minute when Brosque got on the end of a cross from Ibini to make it 2-0 going into the break. Brosque started the second half how he finished the first, by putting the ball in the back of the net, and in the space of a few minutes on the clock Sydney’s lead went from 1-0 to 3-0. From here it was always going to be near enough to mission impossible for Adelaide. To their credit they didn’t lay down, and actually got a goal back with about 20 minutes left, but it looked all to late by that point. Naumoff cemented a dominate win for the sky blues by burying another goal late in the game to make it 4-1 at the final whistle.
As we look at Sunday’s match everything seems to fit perfectly, they’re clearly the best two teams from the 2014/15 season, both coming off three goal wins in their respective Semi Final, two of the biggest clubs in the league, and to top it off, one of the biggest rivalries going around, this match will be epic.
Due to a scheduling issue between the A-League, the AFL and Etihad Stadium the Grand Final will be played at AAMI Park (instead of Etihad Stadium), which has it’s benefits and it’s downsides. The biggest issue with the game being played at AAMI Park is it’s capacity, they crammed 50,000 plus into Etihad last week, AAMI can only fit around half that amount, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Firstly AAMI Park is an incredible stadium, without being to all the grounds around Australia I’d say it is one of the very best square pitch grounds we have. The pitch is always perfect, fans get very close to the action, facilities are great, I think it’s an awesome stadium and I’d suggest anyone who hasn’t been there to try and get down there one day. There was also talk of moving the match interstate which I’m glad didn’t happen, I think the integrity of football is paramount here, and they could of made a lot more money having this at a larger venue somewhere else, but giving the Premiers the home ground advantage had to happen.
I can’t wait for Sunday, there will be a great build up and hopefully the game lives up to everything that it will be.
I will attempt to tweet live during the match, but I will be at the game and not only will I be 100% focused on the action on the pitch, we all know how great phones work at sporting events, but I’ll do my best.
Best of luck and have a great Grand Final weekend.
@AL_TheProfits
Best Value:
1st: Melbourne Victory – Head to Head – $2.25.
2nd: Melbourne Victory – Draw No Bet – $1.60.
Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
Sunday 17 May, 4:00pm – AAMI Park
After a long season we’re finally up to the very last match, it seems fitting that it will be Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC facing off for the Championship. Melbourne Victory are coming off an emphatic 3-0 win in their Semi Final against Melbourne City. They had the form and were fully expected to do something just like that, but Melbourne Derby’s have had a habit of often throwing up crazy results, but we got the right result in my opinion. The Premiers took it to City from the first whistle and were pretty much relentless until the 90 minutes were up. They have a much harder opponent this week and will need to show that same toughness to take this one out. Sydney FC was just as impressive in their match, and they were playing a tough opponent in Adelaide. They took out their match with a very impressive 4-1 win, and Adelaide is definitely no push over, no team had put four goals on them all season, until now. The only chink in Sydney’s amour from that match was their time in possession, while they were deadly when they had the ball, they let Adelaide control the play, and I don’t think that will work against Victory. I think AAMI Park makes the difference in this game, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC are my two highest rated teams, and it’s the home ground advantage that pushes this match heavily towards Melbourne Victory. They have had the best home record all season and I think they play even a little better at AAMI to Etihad. The chants of the Melbourne Victory faithful will be deafening on Sunday, which can take a toll on their opponent, you have to take that into account too. Both teams have won their last three games, so they’re in the right form, at the right time. These two teams do have a history of tight games though, with five of their last ten games ending in a draw. I’ve got Melbourne Victory as a slight odds-on favourite and I think that’s a justified price. If you’re with me and like Melbourne Victory head to William Hill, they are offering great prices for them, $2.25 in the Head to Head market and $1.60 for the Draw No Bet. The game looks like it will have plenty of scoring, both of these sides like to fight offense with offense, with an average of 3.8 goals scored between them in their last 10 match-ups, I think it’s safe to say Over 2.5 looks the way it will go. I think the market has it spot on at $1.73, but if it drifts much then I’d suggest jumping on. This is the Final that most people wanted, they have been the best two teams all season, adding in their fierce rivalry into the mix, it will be a Grand Final to remember for many years.
Last 10 games:
Melbourne Victory 3
Draw 5
Sydney 2
Head to Head
Rated Price:
Melbourne Victory $1.91
Draw $3.99
Sydney $4.43
Market Price:
Melbourne Victory $2.25 William Hill
Draw $3.55 Sportsbet
Sydney $3.20 Everywhere
Draw No Bet
Rated Price:
Melbourne Victory $1.43
Sydney $3.32
Market Price
Melbourne Victory $1.60 William Hill
Sydney $2.31 Sportsbet
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Rated Price:
Over $1.73
Under $2.36
Market Price:
Over $1.73 Everywhere
Under $2.10 Palmerbet
