Macarthur will be looking to snap a four-game winless streak as they host league leaders Melbourne City in an A-League fixture on Saturday. The hosts have been far from their best in recent weeks and should find things difficult against the champions, who are once again looking like the team to beat.
Macarthur are coming off a 4-2 defeat to Central Coast Mariners in their previous A-League fixture. Having gone behind midway through the first half, they struck back through Adrian Mariappa but a defensive meltdown saw them concede three times after the break before Lachlan Rose pulled one back two minutes from time.
It has been a difficult period for Macarthur as that result means they are now winless in four of their last five A-League matches. Ante Milicic’s men have been beaten three times in that run, including a 3-1 defeat to Melbourne City early in March.
Macarthur claimed a 3-1 victory over Western United in their previous home fixture and will be looking to produce a similar performance on Saturday.
Melbourne City are looking well on course for a successful title defence and are three points clear at the top of the table. They are unbeaten in their last eight A-League matches, claiming five wins in that run.
One of those wins for Melbourne City came in their midweek 2-1 victory over Brisbane Roar. They fought back from a goal down with Kai Trewin’s own-goal drawing them level before Raphael Borges Rodrigues stuck the winner in the second half.
The win at Brisbane extends a fine away record for Melbourne City, who have suffered just one defeat on their travels all season. Patrick Kisnorbo’s men travel to Macarthur with four wins and a draw from their last five matches on the road.
How the bookies view it
Melbourne City have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 21/17 by SBK to claim the win. A victory for Macarthur is valued at 11/5 with BetVictor while Unibet is offering odds of 14/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Melbourne City have never lost to Macarthur, claiming three wins and a draw from four previous meetings. The champions claimed a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture earlier in March.
Players to watch
Craig Noone has scored in his last two matches at Campbelltown Stadium and will be the one to watch for Macarthur. The attacker is priced at odds of 3/1 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Melbourne City will be without top scorer Jamie Mclaren, who is away on international duty so Raphael Borges Rodrigues could be worth keeping an eye on. The teenage forward netted his first A-League goal last time out and is priced at 21/10 by bet365 to once again find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
There were over 3.5 goals in the reverse fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 15/8 by Paddy Power. Melbourne City could be backed to score first on Saturday at 5/6 with Paddy Power.
Macarthur have had first half goals in their last two matches and with Melbourne City producing a similar outcome in their last three fixtures, both teams are likely to score in the first half at 3/1 with Coral.
This A League match between Macarthur and Melbourne City will be played on Mar 26, 2022 and kick off at 08:45. Check below for our tipsters best Macarthur vs Melbourne City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
