It is a top of the table clash in the A-League as leaders Central Coast Mariners host Adelaide United at the Central Coast Stadium. Mariners are looking to return to their best but face a dangerous Adelaide team, who are bang in form at the moment.
Central Coast Mariners were held to a surprise 1-1 draw by bottom side Melbourne Victory in their previous A-League outing. They fought back from a goal down with Marcus Ureña's effort earning them a share of the spoils.
The result means Alen Stajcic’s men have now earned two draws and a defeat from their last three matches. They are still top of the table but have seen their lead shrink in recent weeks with Adelaide United just one point behind.
Mariners’ home form is a source of worry having drawn their last two matches. Their defence has also been a problem as they have seen just one clean sheet in six matches and were made to come from behind to earn the point in their last two home fixtures.
Adelaide United travel to Central Coast off the back of a 1-0 victory over Sydney FC last time out in the A-League. Craig Goodwin's penalty midway through the second half proved to be the difference in a tight contest.
Thomas Veart's men are playing with plenty of confidence at the moment and are currently on a six-match winning run. They have been steadily climbing the table and can go top with a win on Thursday.
Adelaide’s recent good form has been driven by a solid attack, which has produced three or more goals in their last three away matches. However, like Central Coast, they are often shaky at the back and have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine matches.
How the bookies view it
Despite their recent struggles, Central Coast Mariners are still considered favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 22/19 by SBK. The same firm is offering 9/4 for a victory for Adelaide United while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by bet365.
Head to head
Adelaide United have the upper hand in this fixture with 25 wins from 52 previous matches. Central Coast Mariners have claimed 19 wins while there have been eight draws between both teams.
Adelaide are unbeaten in 12 of the last 13 meetings and earned a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture back in February.
Players to watch
Matt Simon and Alou Kuol are the joint top scorers for Central Coast Mariners with six goals each and both men will be hoping to come out of a mini drought. Bet365 has Simon at 11/5 to score anytime while Kuol is priced at 49/20 by Unibet in the same market.
Craig Goodwin will be the one to watch for Adelaide United after netting his fourth goal of the season last time out. Unibet has the forward at 5/2 to score anytime while midfielder Stefan Mauk is valued at 11/2 in the same market as he looks to add to his six goals this season.
Anything else catch the eye?
There is plenty of attacking quality on display and with both teams often shaky at the back, the goals market looks an attractive proposition. The reverse fixture produced over 4.5 goals which is priced at 39/10 by SBK, over 3.5 goals is valued at 13/8 by bet365 while over 2.5 goals is set at odds of 33/50 by Red Zone.
Both teams often score after the break so the second half could be tipped as the highest scoring half at 21/20 with Sport Nation. Both teams can also be backed to score in the second half at 7/4 with bet365.
This A League match between Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United will be played on Apr 1, 2021 and kick off at 09:40. Check below for our tipsters best Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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