Brisbane Roar will hope to push closer to the final playoff series in the A-League as they host Wellington Phoenix at the Moreton Daily Stadium. Wellington are just a point behind the hosts and are often dangerous but Brisbane have momentum right now and should edge this one at home.
There were four different goalscorers as Brisbane Roar ran out 4-0 winners at Central Coast Mariners in their previous A-League fixture. An early effort from Macaulay Gillesphey set them on their way while Joseph Champness and Alex Parsons added further goals before Masato Kudo netted the fourth on the stroke of 90 minutes.
After a slow start to the campaign, Brisbane appear to have picked up their form in recent weeks. They have won their last three A-League matches, with two of those wins coming against teams ranked above them.
The target for manager Warren Moon is a place in the final Series playoff as they sit one point behind Western United in the final qualification spot. However, they will need to sort out their defence having kept just one clean sheet in their last eight matches.
Wellington Phoenix needed a dramatic 90th minute penalty from Tomer Hemed to secure a 2-1 victory over Adelaide United last time out in the A-League. They fought back from a goal down with Ben Waine getting the equaliser before Hemed's late strike.
A place in the final series playoff is also within reach for Wellington, as they sit eighth on the table, just one point behind Brisbane. They have shown some good form in recent weeks, winning three of their last four matches.
One area of concern for manager Ufuk Talay is the team’s patchy form on the road having claimed just three wins in their last 10 away matches. Among their results in that run is a 4-3 defeat at Western Sydney Wanderers while they were also beaten 2-0 by strugglers Melbourne Victory.
How the bookies view it
Brisbane Roar are favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 23/18 by SBK. The same firm is offering 11/5 for a victory for Wellington Phoenix while a draw is set at odds of 13/5 by bet365.
Given Brisbane’s recent good form and with Wellington often unconvincing on their travels, I am leaning towards a home win here.
Head to head
Brisbane Roar have 21 wins while Wellington Phoenix have been victorious just eight times from 42 previous matches. There have been 13 stalemates between both teams including a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
Brisbane have won the last two meetings at the Moreton Daily Stadium.
Players to watch
Despite being in the middle of a drought, Dylan Wenzel-Halls remains the top scorer for Brisbane with seven goals. The striker is due a goal and could be worth a punt to score anytime at 29/20 with Unibet.
Uli Davila has seven goals from midfield for Wellington Phoenix and is priced at 5/4 by bet365 to score anytime. Striker Tomer Hemed has also found the net five times in his last eight matches and is valued at 43/20 by Unibet in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the attacking quality on display for both teams, a punt in the goals market could be considered. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 13/19 by Red Zone, over 3.5 goals is priced at 7/4 by bet365 while Unibet is offering 9/1 for over 4.5 goals.
Both teams have a knack for late goals and could be tipped to score in the second half at 7/4 with bet365.
This A League match between Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix will be played on May 1, 2021 and kick off at 09:05. Check below for our tipsters best Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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