It is a clash between two of the worst teams in the A-League as Western United host Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park. Both teams have struggled in recent weeks but Western United are often hard to beat at home and should have the edge on Friday.
Western United are coming off a 3-0 defeat at Wellington Phoenix in their previous A-League fixture. They were no match for Phoenix and were second best for much of the contest despite missing a few goalscoring opportunities.
Sitting third from bottom; Western United head into Friday’s clash off the back of five straight A-League defeats. However, four of those five fixtures have been on the road and they will be pleased to be back playing at AAMI Park.
One positive for manager Marko Rudan in a disappointing campaign is his team’s home form. They have won four of their last six matches at AAMI Park, a run that includes a 2-1 victory over Melbourne City.
Melbourne Victory are also coming off a defeat as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Adelaide United. It was yet another poor performance from the Victory, who struggled to create chances and finished without a single attempt on target.
It has been a disappointing campaign for Melbourne City as they sit just one point off the foot of the table.
Melbourne Victory are on a five-match losing streak on their travels including a 7-0 defeat to Melbourne City. They also have the worst defence in the league and have conceded 15 goals in their last five matches.
How the bookies view it
Western United have been installed as favourites among the bookies and are priced at 71/100 by novibet to win. BetVictor is offering 17/5 for a win for Melbourne Victory while a draw is valued at 3/1 by BetVictor.
Melbourne Victory have been abysmal this season and should be no match for Western United. I am predicting a comfortable home win in this one.
Head to head
Western United have never lost to Melbourne Victory, claiming four wins and a draw from five previous matches. They also earned a 4-3 victory in the last meeting between both teams.
Players to watch
Besart Berisha is the leading scorer for Western United this season with seven goals, including a brace in the last meeting against Melbourne Victory. With Dylan Pierias also contributing six goals from midfield, the hosts will be confident of producing over 1.5 goals at 5/7 with Red Zone.
Western United have kept clean sheets in two of their last four home fixtures with Andrew Durante and Tomoki Imai featuring in central defence. With Melbourne Victory failing to score in their last two matches, Western United will be confident of another clean sheet at 21/10 with Sporting Index.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Melbourne Victory struggling in attack, a win to nil for Western United could be on the cards at 5/2 with SpreadEX. A -1 handicap could also be worth a punt at 28/13 with Red Zone.
Western United are likely to earn a halftime win at 13/10 with bet365 while Melbourne Victory could be tipped to not score at 21/10 with Sporting Index.
This A League match between Western United and Melbourne Victory will be played on May 28, 2021 and kick off at 10:05. Check below for our tipsters best Western United vs Melbourne Victory prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Home win.
0-4 before ht! I went btnts, so hoping they don’t concede now