Who needs wins? A-League Week 3 Preview | Thebigtip

Adelaide v Melbourne Heart

Date: Friday 20th August
Time: 8pm EST
Location: Hindmarsh Stadium

Odds
Adelaide: $2.34
Draw: $3.35
Melbourne: $3.55

Another weekday night match for the Heart – they must be wondering what playing on a weekend feels like by this point. This might be their best chance yet to pick up the three points when you take into account Adelaide’s injury list, and combine that with the doubt over Van Dijk’s availability.

I can’t comment too much on Adelaide from last week given that I only saw highlights of the game, but from what I did see it seemed like Pantelis had a decent game. That means he will have absolutely no effect this week or at any time in the next month. Usually that’s like clockwork when it comes to him.

For the Heart, I’d go with Aziz to replace the injured Skoko. I mentioned it in my Week 2 pieces, but I thought he was really good against the Mariners, and it baffled me when he was still dropped for the clearly rusty Srhoj, who didn’t look anywhere near ready to play. I understand that the plan would have originally been to play limited gametime, but surely another week of training would have led to him being ready to play longer minutes this week.

With the lack of ... well, players for Adelaide to choose from, I can’t see them playing with any sort of cohesion. It should provide an opportunity for the Heart to shine, and I do think they’ll be better this week. Coming up with the win might be just beyond them though, so I’ll take the safe option when Adelaide are playing and go with the scoreless draw.

Tip: Draw (0-0)

Value Bet: 0-0 h/t score.

Perth v Newcastle

Date: Saturday 21st August
Time: 5:15pm EST
Location: NIB Stadium

Odds
Perth: $1.77
Draw: $3.55
Newcastle: $4.60

The first of the Saturday double-header sees Newcastle travelling to Perth. I’ll be enjoying watching these live while I can, because once cricket starts, it’s all on delay for me.

Perth have named Mitchell and Baird in their extended squad again. I’m not optimistic about seeing them take the field on Saturday, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. At least they know they’re in good form without them after their performance last week against the Victory. I haven’t heard of the progress on ticket sales, but hopefully they get a crowd similar to their figure against the Fury in the season opener. It’s good to see the support growing, so it’s up to the club to find ways of turning the supporters into long-term, dedicated fans.

For Newcastle, I initially thought that Topor-Stanley was a big loss for them. Of course, it still is when you consider the fact that it means Perth will have an extra striker now in Kantarovski, but that should mean that Wheelhouse will spend a lot of time around Jacob Burns. At the risk of sounding a little too enthusiastic, there could actually be fists flying, and I can not wait. It could actually be the moment of the season.

As for the actual game itself (who needs them these days?), Perth have a good record against the Jets, taking all nine points from them last season in their three meetings. I think they’ll ride their high from last week and – although it’s dangerous to pick anything other than a draw – end up winning two on the trot.

Tip: Perth (2-1)

Value Bet: Red Card in the game.

Brisbane v Sydney FC

Date: Saturday 21st August
Time: 7:30pm EST
Location: Suncorp Stadium

Odds
Brisbane: $2.98
Draw: $3.30
Sydney: $2.62

This is the match that I’m most looking forward to for the round. I really enjoyed watching the Roar in Week 1, and I guess the downside of the bye is that they couldn’t carry on any momentum from that performance into this match against Sydney 13 days later.

Reinaldo is a massive in for Brisbane. I have no doubt in saying that if he played against the Gold Coast, the Roar would have walked away with the three points. It’s not like Reinaldo is the best striker going around, but his presence would have opened up more avenues for the likes of Barbarouses, Broich, Henrique & co. Look for that to happen on Saturday night – and think of the carnage that could happen in the future if Solorzano ends up being what Brisbane supporters hope him to be!

From a Sydney perspective, Brosque is a mammoth out with Bridge still sidelined by a hamstring injury. It leaves them with no quality strikers in the squad for the game, so it’ll be interesting to see how Lavicka organises his team. I was critical of him for the starting XI he selected against the Fury, but I think in this case, he has no choice but to deploy something similar – just because of the lack of fit attacking players at his disposal.

There is one option that I’ve mulled over for a little bit though, and it’s a pretty radical one – starting Foxe up front alongside Danning. Last season when he came off the bench, Sydney used Foxe in a striker’s role. Admittedly this is a completely different situation, but by starting him up front you could solve the problem at the back as well, meaning Cole can start at right back, with Ryall alongside Keller in the centre.

I don’t think that’s going to happen though (with good reason, it’s a completely left of field idea), so it’ll most likely be a defensive line-up from Lavicka. Taking that into account, I think Brisbane will have the lion’s share of possession (wait, wrong Brisbane team), and this time with the presence of Reinaldo will eventually break Sydney down.

Tip: Brisbane (1-0)

Value Bet: Brisbane win or draw.

These odds are current as of 11.28am AEST. For the lastest, click here.

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